The Moment the Cameras Looked Away

On June 2, 1953, over twenty-seven million people watched the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on television — the first coronation ever broadcast. Cameras captured every processional detail, every jeweled crown and golden orb. But at the most sacred moment of the ceremony, the cameras were deliberately turned away.

When the Archbishop of Canterbury anointed Elizabeth with holy oil, a canopy was raised to shield her from view. The BBC was told this act was too sacred to broadcast. In that hidden moment, the young queen knelt — stripped of her royal robes, wearing a simple white garment — acknowledging that her authority came from somewhere beyond herself.

Psalm 99 declares three times, "Holy is He." The psalmist names Moses, Aaron, and Samuel — leaders of enormous authority — yet each one called upon the Lord and knelt before His throne. Their power was real, but it was borrowed. The true King reigned above them all.

That coronation moment captures something Psalm 99 insists we remember: holiness demands reverence, even from those who wear crowns. The Most High sits enthroned, and before Him, every earthly authority bows. We are invited not merely to admire God's greatness from a distance but to worship at His holy mountain — to kneel, as Elizabeth knelt, and acknowledge that He alone reigns.