News of the consecration at Jerusalem of the oils from the Mount of Olives that will be used to anoint Charles III at his coronation is a moment to reflect on the connection between the King of England and God. It has to be a humbling moment for a sovereign who accedes to the throne atop a riven family. No doubt this is comprehended by the clergy who will perform the rites — a chance for wisdom to be drawn from the Israelite kings.   

The holy oil itself, Buckingham Palace reports, flows from olives of the groves on the Mount of Olives, at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene and the Monastery of the Ascension. The former is the burial place of Charles’ grandmother, Alice of Greece. The olives were pressed near Bethlehem. Their liquid has been perfumed with essential oils of sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin and amber, and orange blossom.

The oil recalls King Solomon, son of David, who is hailed as the paradigmatic king. It’s of Solomon’s anointing that the choir will sing as Charles is crowned. This is marked in Handel’s first Coronation Anthem, “Zadok the priest,” which tells of the  Biblical figure known for anointing Solomon, after which “they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.” It was under Solomon that the Temple at Jerusalem was built. 

Handel’s Anthem was first performed for the anointing of George II in 1727, but the story of Zadok has been a hallmark of English coronations for more than a thousand years. It has been so as far back as the 9th century rule of King Egbert of Wessex. Under Solomon’s 40 year rule, Biblical Israel was at its zenith, united, at peace, welcoming of envoys like the Queen of Sheba. Solomon’s wisdom and wealth were so renowned as to be proverbial.

So far, so good for Charles, even if Solomon, anointed  at 15, had a six decade head start on the king who, in Charles, acceded to the English throne at an age older than any other. Both kings were born of  parents quickly absorbed into legend. Charles can look to Solomon for guidance on how to build a legacy in the shadow of a towering forebear. David fought wars so that Solomon could harvest the peace and enable the world to know Israel. 

The challenge for Charles, then, would be to build, in his own way, on the bequest of “Mummy.” The “Windsor Accords” in Northern Ireland, say, could be early evidence of such an effort. Unlike Solomon, Charles’s island kingdom needn’t worry about land invaders like the fierce Hadad of Edom. He would do well, though, to be wary of the hosts based at Brussels eyeing English independence. With the leader of Europe Charles lately dined.

Plus, too, let us not forget that Solomon’s story turned tragic. The Bible castigates him for taking in his old age 700 wives and 300 concubines. The result was that, in the Bible’s estimation, “his heart was not whole with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.” Nor is Charles a stranger to the ruin that can follow star-crossed love. Crowned alongside him will be Camilla, who, Charles has recently ordained, will become Queen. 

Then there is the matter of succession. The Biblical record suggests that Solomon’s son Rehoboam possessed few of his father’s gifts. He oversaw the crackup of his father’s kingdom. It was sundered in two. In the north, there were the 10 tribes that would eventually disappear from history. In the south was Judah, from which most of today’s Jews are descended. The analogy is imperfect, but who knows what the feud between William and his brother might yet portend?

It is not our intention to mar the occasion, only to understand what comes with the holy oil from Jerusalem. The anthem will be not only of Zadok but also of Nathan, a prophet who warned David of a wayward son and opened the way for Solomon. As it was then, may it be now not only that, as Scripture puts it, “the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them,” but also that their joy is redeemed.