A boy, clad
in white and red livery approached the throne.
He was carrying a cushioned stool.
He made is
obeisance to the Queen and climbed up the stairs before her, where he placed
the stool at her feet. Then, with
practiced precision, he stepped backwards down the stairs and took up another
cushion in his arms and stood at royal attention. Master Duncan Davidson had done his part to
perfection.
But . . . it
wasn’t over.
The Queen
handed the two scepters to the lords who had born them in procession, and she
removed the glove. Her hands must now be
free to hold the hands of others.
Even after
ten centuries of repetition, the words of homage did not sound dry and crusty
in that setting. Archbishop Fisher came
up the stairs and knelt before Elizabeth who had so recently knelt before him,
and now he spoke not blessing but devotion:
“I, Geoffrey, Archbishop of Canterbury,
will be faithful and true, and faith and truth will bear unto you, Our
Sovereign Lady, Queen of this Realm and Defender of the Faith, and unto your
heirs and successors according to law.
So help me God.”
All the bishops, kneeling in their
places, repeated the words with him.
State bowing before God, and God’s ministers pledging their devotion to
the Realm. Not a bad system, when we
think about it.
Phillip's Obeisance, His Honor to Protect and Defend
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