How we mourned – and celebrated – historic royal occasions
Professor David Latchman looks back on the UK Jewish community's proud history of commemorating royal events – happy and sad – with special prayers and services.
As Anglo-Jewry actively participates in the national mourning for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, it is worth reflecting on the long history of our community commemorating royal events with special prayers and services.
The oldest example in my collection is a service commemorating the preservation of King George III from an assassination attempt in 1786.
The would-be assassin was a washer woman, Margaret Nicholson, who attacked the King with an ivory handled dessert knife. She was apprehended and spent the remaining years of her life in a lunatic asylum.
Having survived this incident, George III lived for another 34 years.
When he passed away in 1820, Professor Hyman Hurwitz composed a Hebrew dirge in his honour which was translated into English by the famous poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, with the title: ‘Tears of a Grateful People’.
Following these early examples, celebratory services were held for royal coronations and other milestones. For example, services were held commemorating the Golden and Diamond Jubilees of Queen Victoria.
Unfortunately she did not make it to her Platinum Jubilee and memorial services mourning her passing were held in many synagogues in 1901.
As always, the sad passing of a monarch is followed by the coronation of a successor. Unfortunately, the coronation of Queen Victoria’s son King Edward VII was postponed due to the King having appendicitis. The synagogue service printed for the occasion had to be hastily replaced with a prayer for the recovery of the King.
Fortunately, subsequent coronations have proceeded smoothly, including that of Queen Elizabeth II which was commemorated in many synagogues with a special service.
As memorial services for Queen Elizabeth II are held in multiple synagogues, we can look forward as she would have wished to services celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III.
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