Anointing and “The Crown”

Encouraged by my wife, I’ve been enjoying the Anglo-American miniseries The Crown.  And, I must say, I’ve been enjoying it very much.

For someone who is both an Anglophile and a passionate lover of history, it’s a feast.

And, since I’ve been quite sick for the past week or so, it’s come at a very good time.  I’ve felt too terrible to read a lot of serious stuff, and Law and Order gets old fast.

I believe, moreover, that while, even at its grandest, earthly monarchy is only a dim shadow of the divine monarchy that it represents, it does, nonetheless, occasionally capture something of the celestial reality.

And many Latter-day Saints, I think, will recognize that fact most clearly in this drama through its remarkable depiction and discussion of the ritual anointing with oil that is performed in the royal coronation.