The Scarring of Royalty 

Where Now for The Monarchy  – And For the Nation?

When the sins of a nation are laid bare by God, there will be no place to hide. Such is the contemporary situation in Britain, with the news media filled daily with explicit detail of evil acts on a world scale that have now even brought disgrace to members of the Royal Family.

The Bible contains much teaching on this. Even David, the great king who had a heart after the Lord’s own heart, nevertheless sinned greatly in his adultery with Bathsheba. The consequences were both a divided family and a divided nation. Will God dismiss the sins of Britain easily when compared with this?

Where did all this begin in our nation?

Let’s look back to an earlier era, which in several ways draws parallels to our own. In the 1930s there were rumblings across the world that the Great War was not, after all, the “war to end wars”. Those with insight could interpret the subtle rearmament of Germany as inevitably leading to another war. Similar rumblings are taking place again now, with Russia prominent in its aggressive intent, but also in regards to China and Iran.

Just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, King George V died on January 20^th, 1936. His oldest son Edward became King. He was a charismatic figure, but was also known for his sexual misconduct. A constitutional crisis loomed when he wanted to marry Wallis Simpson who would be twice divorced should this take place.

The crisis was averted through his abdication on 11^th December 1936. His younger brother succeeded to the throne as George VI, a shier man but one of integrity, honour and deep belief in the God of Abraham. His call to prayer through the war years became a significant factor in the history of that war and the victory that was so hard won.

Intercession

There was also a background story, which stands testimony to the prophetic purposes of God through the 1930s and 40s. The story is so often recalled by those who commit themselves to prayer for our nation in our day. A Welshman called Rees Howells was led by God to bring an intercessory team together in Swansea where the Bible College of Wales was also founded.

The King's call to prayer through the war years became a significant factor in the history of that war and the victory that was so hard won.

At the time of Edward’s desire to marry Wallis Simpson, which was clearly seen to be against the Coronation Oath and his own position as head of the Church of England, the focus of prayer was strongly on this matter. A record of the prayer diaries for the daily prayer meetings was as follows (as published in Rees Howells, Intercessor, Lutterworth Press 1973):

December 4. “The News about the king has come to light in the morning papers, and the Director tells us how serious conditions are. We came back in the evening and pleaded with the Lord to guide the king, and give wisdom and discernment to all those concerned in this crisis.”

December 5. “Day of prayer in College. Situation in England very grave, because it concerns not only our land, but the British Empire.”

December 6. “Day of prayer and fasting in College. We pray for the Empire in its present crisis. The Lord reveals that it is His will for Edward to abdicate. Mr. Howells was as strong as a lion in the fight, and declared, ‘Edward is not to reign, or the Lord has not spoken by me.’ There is a wonderful victory as we believe in the evening.”

December 7. “There is thanksgiving over the victory of yesterday. The papers reveal that while at the end of last week the king was challenging the position, now he is anxious to do only what will be best for the Empire.”

The prayers continued over the next few days within the expected outcome for the abdication on December 11.

Coronation Oath

We live in a world of relativism, far from the absolutes of those days. Is it any wonder that we have drifted as we have from the ways of God with most people not even realising it. When Queen Elizabeth came to the throne on June 2^nd, 1953, it was on the wave of victory of World War 2. The solemnity of her Coronation was seen across the world and she surely meant her vows before God. Yet decline in our nation began in the early part of her reign, with laws that are contradictory to those of God, one after another coming to our statute books.

Significant among her vows was her affirmation before God that she would, to the utmost of her power, maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel.

Were there not signs of the Lord’s growing displeasure in our nation as various troubles began to beset the Royal Family? Every time Queen Elizabeth signed a law against the laws of God she broke her Coronation Oath, which is at the heart of our constitution. Significant among her vows was her affirmation before God that she would, to the utmost of her power, maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel, a promise equally affirmed by every member of the Government and of the leaders of the Church of England. In other words, our sins are corporate sins in the nation, whilst the Royal Family is in high profile.

Constitutional crisis

What then of Charles’ Coronation? With the crisis of the tragic death of his wife Diana behind him, yet with knowledge of infidelity, he had married a divorced woman whom he wanted to be his queen. There was also a behind-the-scenes negotiation to change aspects of the Coronation Oath, but then compromised by the inclusion of prayers for all faiths in the midst of a profoundly important vow of allegiance to the One True God. God looks on the heart, and this was from a heart clearly not as steadfast for the core principles of the Oath as that of George VI or Queen Elizabeth II.

Now we are watching as politicians, law-enforcers and even the Monarchy uncover background issues that contributed to what is now the scandal relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, just as King David’s life was laid bare all those years ago. Meanwhile the cry of republicans will increase. We are nearing a constitutional crisis but more than that, an outworking of the betrayal of our corporate allegiance to the Lord God and His Son, our Saviour, Jesus the Messiah.

Covenant purposes

 Let us cast our minds back to the time before the World War 2. Those with insight, as with the team at the Bible College of Wales, realised that the upheaval in the world was not only to save Britain and her allies; it also was a time when God’s covenant purposes were moving forward. After the war, the same team that had prayed for the Monarchy turned their prayers to the reestablishment of Israel as a nation in their own land. The prayer team pronounced victory prior to the UN vote on the partition of Palestine and saw a vision of angels around the UN building.

After the war, the same team that had prayed for the Monarchy turned their prayers to the reestablishment of Israel as a nation in their own land. 

What then is God doing today, with these fresh signs all around? He does care for the UK, but it is in a poor state, not just as we see in the outworking of events in the Royal Family. We cannot grasp at promises given to Israel and seek to apply them to our own nation, but surely God does still care for the many people who do not know their right hand from their left.

Turning from evil

We need, more than even in the time of Rees Howells and his team, to seek the Lord in prayer – the Christian Church truly has a part to play. We need to hear the true prophetic word and so know the context to which all the signs point. Whatever else may be true, what the Lord showed to Jeremiah when he was taken to the potter’s house, remains true for Britain:

^“The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.” (Jeremiah 18:7-10)