About the Coronation Bible and Oil

As I watched the coronation of King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort, the one thing I quickly wanted to know about was the bible used by King Charles as he recited the oath. Turns out, it was a specially commissioned King James Bible like new monarchs have been presented with since the coronation of William III and Mary II in 1689. The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said the bible, made by Oxford University Press, is a reminder to the king that Scripture is at the heart of Christian life.”

I also learned that the coronation oil was created using olives that were harvested from groves at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene and the Monastery of the Ascension monasteries at the Mount of Olives, where Jesus prayed on the day before his crucifixion. The olives were pressed into oil just outside Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and the oil was declared holy in a special ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which stands on the site where Jesus was crucified.

Where is the King of America?

Author Thomas Paine was the first person to publicly advocate that America should seek to be an independent nation, free from tyranny. His ‘how to’ pamphlet, known as Common Sense, sold 100,000 copies, a best-seller among the two-million people in the American British colonies. It challenged the authority of the royal monarchy and inspired the people of America into a revolution.

“The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth,” he said.

While the people in the American British colonies were fed up with King George, Paine wrote: “But where, say some, is the king of America? I’ll tell you Friend, he reigns above..."