The nature of leadership

Last month we witnessed the first coronation in 70 years. Did you avidly follow every moment of the spectacle, dip in and out whilst spending time with friends and family, or ignore it altogether and simply enjoy an extra bank holiday?

There was certainly plenty of debate in the media around the pomp and ceremony, the money that was lavished on the event during a cost of living crisis, and the role of an hereditary monarchy in 2023. Society is increasingly sceptical of tradition, religion and authority, to the extent that we are each encouraged to pick ‘our own truth’ from the morass of information and viewpoints that swirl around us.

Yet the Abbey service took elements from hundreds of years of liturgy, music, worship and symbolism, drawing on Britain’s deep Christian culture and ethics, and all explained in the accompanying written commentary provided by the Church of England.