A Defence of Monarchy: Catholics under a Protestant King

With contributions by Sohrab Ahmari, James Bogle, Charles Coulombe, Peter Day-Milne, Sebastian Morello, and Joseph Shaw

The death of Queen Elizabeth II and the ceremonies surrounding her funeral and the coronation of her son King Charles III, raised many questions for the tens of millions who followed these events online. What is the meaning and function of a monarchy and its rituals in the modern world? And how should Catholics, in particular, view the record of a Queen who appeared to preside over the de-Christianization of her own country? Such are the questions this book sets out to answer. It examines the place of the monarchy in the interplay of tradition and modernity; the meaning and development of the coronation rites; the constitutional and legislative roles of British monarchs; and how the monarchy is seen in America and the rest of the English-speaking world. Ultimately, this timely and perhaps provocative work makes the case for the monarchy as a repository of Catholic tradition, a politically neutral focus of unity, and the symbolic interface between the nation and God.

About the Editor
JOSEPH SHAW is Chairman of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales and President of the International Una Voce Federation (FIUV). He is the editor of The Case for Liturgical Restoration (Angelico Press, 2018) and The Intellectuals and the Mass: Petitions to Save the Ancient Mass from 1966 to 2007 (Arouca Press, 2023), and the author of The Liturgy, the Family, and the Crisis of Modernity (Os Justi Press, 2023).

Table of Contents

Introduction by Joseph Shaw

The Constitution

1. The Monarchy and the British Constitution by James Bogle and Sebastian Morello

2. Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Assent by James Bogle

3. The Monarchy and Responsibility for Legislation by James Bogle

4. The Monarch and Co-operation with Evil by Joseph Shaw

5. Lost Dignity: On the Dignified Aspect of Government and the Problem of Totalitarianism by Sebastian Morello

The Coronation

6. The Coronation is a Ritual Humiliation by Sohrab Ahmari

7. The Eighth Sacrament? by Charles Coulombe

8. The Vocation of Queen Elizabeth II and the Coronation Liturgy by Peter Day-Milne

Responding to Catholic Objections

9. The Place of the Monarchy in Anglophone Culture by James Bogle

10. The King’s Friends: George III and the American Revolution by Charles Coulombe

11. On Monarchy and Tradition by Joseph Shaw

12. Honour a Heretic King? The Question facing King Charles III’s Catholic Subjects by Sebastian Morello

13. Rex Sacrorum by Joseph Shaw