As I sat in my front row seat at 7.40am I was lucky enough to experience an event of such huge significance which managed to combine historical, religious, ceremonial and constitutional traditions. At the same time we saw the raw emotions of the 40th monarch to be crowned in the Abbey.
Sitting in the front row I watched the Abbey fill with a diverse mix of people with many well-known faces arriving alongside hundreds of worthy individuals from a wide variety of voluntary and public facing organisations. People who have been at the forefront of volunteering especially during the pandemic and others who have served the monarch and the country in many different ways.
Then religious leaders entered and I was pleased to see not only The Chief Rabbi but good friends Archbishop Angaelos of The Coptic Cathedral in my county and also the Bishop of Bath and Wells who had until recently been Bishop of Hertford-who had such a significant role in proceedings alongside the King.
The Commonwealth representatives were followed by the foreign leaders and members of the Royal Family of all ages. Finally the entrance of first The Queen followed by The King and as they passed a mere couple of feet in front of me their faces evidenced a certain nervousness.
The ceremony itself -accompanied by the music and hymns from past and present- brought tears to a great many eyes-my own included. Why was I so emotional at the crowning of my boss…who after all had been heir apparent since he was 4 years old? Perhaps it was the pride that my late parents -both refugees from Nazi Germany only a generation ago- -would have felt. My father subsequently served in the British Army for 3 years during World War II and was a member of AJEX. Or maybe because of the feeling of pride as a British Jew at being the only Jewish Lord-Lieutenant-the personal representative of a monarch who encompasses the diversity that is Britain today. Or maybe because -as The Chief Rabbi said-there was an “aura” which captivated all those in the Abbey and beyond.
A day never to be forgotten-an honour to be a part of British history.
Robert Voss CBE CStJ HM Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire is an AJEX JMA Hon Patron
