I am writing this column sitting in my office on a sunny Tuesday in Westminster, following a glorious May Day bank holiday spent with my family celebrating my husband’s sixtieth birthday (gulp!). It was a wonderful family time – so precious to grab these moments as life for most of us is so packed with work and other duties. As I write, I am watching the comings and goings of staff and MPs as they get ready for visit of King Charles III to Westminster Hall later in the day. There is an excited buzz about the place, as I am sure there will be all over the country this Saturday and the coronation bank holiday as families and communities come together to celebrate something very special and very British; our royal family and our British traditions.
Traditions really matter and are as important for families as they are for a country, especially in a world which is turbulent, and our lives fast paced and ever changing. Traditions teach us values and offer us familiarity, consistency, and togetherness with a shared sense of belonging. Traditions offer stability, a semblance of order and comfort, and make us feel safe and secure. Traditions are more than routine, behaviour or actions, they are locked into our emotion, our collective psyche and well-being and are a critical part of any culture, of every family. Our traditions gave many of us comfort when her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth died last year – a time of profound change and grief for so many British people.
Some believe that we should sweep our traditions away, but I disagree; our traditions are a custom, a belief, a glue which bind us together and we must conserve them for future generations. I am a Conservative partly because I believe in the cultural traditions and institutions of our country. Traditions tell the story of where we came from and whilst we might not like or approve of some of our history, we cannot change it or sweep it under the carpet; we must face our history, explain what shaped our lives and what we can learn from it.
Conserving traditions, rather than preserving them for future generations is critical; conserving means to protect whilst moving with the times, whilst preserving is static. In other words, traditions can modernise to ensure that they are still relevant and, importantly, positive and respectful for all of us, and there is a strong argument that some traditions must modernise, especially to engage our younger generations.
We see our new monarch, King Charles III, for example, who seeks to conserve our established traditions whilst modernising the monarchy – a difficult balance for any era, let alone today.
So, this coronation weekend, I shall join the rest of country, along with most of the residents of Hastings and Rye in celebrating our Britishness and our new king. It is fantastic that there are a number of coronation events across our local towns and villages, from Flowers Fit for A King in St Mary’s Church, Udimore to Pianoke in Rye. I will be glued to the television on Saturday morning and will enjoy the street party in Winchelsea on Sunday – I hope there are cucumber sandwiches, a Victoria sponge and lots of bunting!
Image Credits: Col Everett .