And yet we are still the same, in essence, I suspect we will behave very much as 70 years ago - we will have a street party with bunting organised with people bringing chairs and tables and sharing food. We are all going to put up with the weather, as the crowds did 70 years ago braving the heavy rain. My friend Jeremy Rye is doing the Sovereign Walk, as they would have done at the time of Charles II from the Tower Of London to Westminster Abbey which symbolises the Crown. Walking the seven gateways, a walk in the ancient footsteps that each monarch has done to know themselves and to prepare to receive the anointing oil of sovereignty.
This mixing of old and new traditions, the recent discussions about the broader church that King Charles III wishes to embrace, the evolved guest list and yet we will still all watch the television as the nation did in 1953, to see who is wearing what. And despite all the hoo-ha of the last few years and messy family dynamics and Brexit polarisation we will cheer like mad and I for one, remain proud that our new King has embraced the modern, the diverse and has the style and erudition to commission twelve new compositions for the Coronation service. As a lifelong enthusiast and champion of the Arts and he truly has the will to push for what he believes in and what he believes his role and service to the nation to be.
I have been very lucky to have worked with his Royal Highness at Dumfries House on a hand-knitting project over the last three years and so on a personal note I think we are very lucky especially now, that we have a sovereign who has conviction and genuinely cares about what so many of us care about, nature, skills, learning, community, growing food organically, caring for the planet and helping and cherishing our youth. Long Live the King!
The coronation invitation of their majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla has the Green Man at the centre, the ancient symbol from British folklore. A symbol of spring and rebirth crowned in natural foliage and wild flowers surrounded by wildlife including a bee, a wren and a robin painted by manuscript illuminator by Andrew Jamieson. And so the coronation window at Connolly in Clifford Street is about the new King’s love of nature; we have built a bank of delphiniums, his favourite flower.
‘For me’ writes our monarch, ‘the magnificent, gloriously apparelled delphinium, with its impeccable bearing and massed in platoons, holds pride of place in my botanical affections.’
Walk in the Footsteps of Monarchs at this Coronation
SATURDAY 6TH MAY WITH JEREMY RYE
Walking the path of the ancients in celebration & initiation of this shift of a nation. Take a sacred walk through hidden London with me. Travelled by generations of Monarchs to know themselves and to prepare to receive the anointing oil of Sovereignty. This sacred walk changed them to hold the responsibility of a nations people.
We walk this route, on the day of the coronation, as they would have done to the time of Charles II. Taking the energy of that transformation from its root in the Tower of London to Westminster Abbey, symbolising the crown. We walk in service through the seven gateways and will finish as close to Westminster as the day will allow. On this pilgrimage we will walk in silence between the seven energy centres. Sharing and talking only at each stop. It is a walk of joy, celebration, truth, consciousness and compassion. Pilgrimage.
London-based landscape designer Jeremy Rye will be leading guided tours of the four London walks that were known to Kings and Queens since the beginning of the monarchy in England.
These spiritual walks were undertaken by the monarchs and the landscape keepers of the time. They would journey at specific points in their reign, at certain times of the year or for the marking of events. These were not only a means of navigating a city but seen as instrumental in maintaining its health, spiritual and commercial success.
Unlike a typical history tour, this is an opportunity for participants to mirror these spiritual journeys, in part to strengthen our sense of self, answer questions we have and to transform. They are an ideal companion to other self-reflection practices such as journaling, therapy or meditation. Jeremy Rye is a practicing landscape architect who integrates history and spirituality in his work.
Route: This is one of four sacred walks in London that crosses the city and will start at the Tower of London and end at Westminster Abbey. There will be seven stops made along the way where Jeremy will both point out historic architectural features, their history and their connection to a spiritual question. Participants are invited to use these stops not only to listen but find answers for themselves.
Jeremy Rye Events at
Delphiniums at Dumfries House