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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Chine McDonald, director of Theos - the religion and society think tank

Good morning,

Today marks seventy years since King George VI – the father of Queen Elizabeth the second – was laid to rest at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. The king, who had died nine days earlier, had spent 16 years on the throne; a period which included leading the country through the difficult years of the Second World War. More than 300,000 people paid homage to the king’s body as it lay in state for three days.

It was also the first time that many more were able to witness the funeral of a monarch thanks to being broadcast on television. Although it’s been seven decades since the passing of King George, in many ways the country is in a similar position to where we were in those post-war years; living in the shadow of a great trauma. I think back to those first few terrifying weeks of the pandemic, in which Queen Elizabeth gave a rare address to the nation, acknowledging the grief and trauma faced by so many and the promise that we would meet again, in the words of the wartime song made famous by Vera Lynn.

At times of collective mourning, it’s important to come together with signs of collective remembrance. We need memorials to our grief; places to stand in solidarity with each other and recognise in each other the pain we have all been through; acknowledging our fears and pain and collective trauma. This year, the seventieth anniversary of King George’s death also marks 70 years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. In our mourning of what has come before, we can also find stories of hope, resilience and triumph. This is the rollercoaster of the human story. But thank God there’s someone watching over us, who never changes; who remains the same yesterday, today and forever.

Amen.