A celebration of uncommon leadership — Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s sermon for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Posted on June 5, 2022 
Filed under History, People, Sydney Diocese

“Princess Elizabeth was 25 years old and on tour in Kenya on her way to Australia, when she learnt the tragic news of the early death of her father, King George VI.

King George had acceded to the throne only after the unprecedented abdication of his brother King Edward VIII.

It had shaken the nation, and its impact on her father, the royal family and the kingdom is undoubtedly part of the background to Her Majesty’s unswerving devotion to her role.

Her uncle’s reign was the shortest of any British monarch. Her Majesty’s eclipsed that of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, more than six years ago. …”

— Archbishop Kanishka Raffel preached at a special service at St. Andrew’s Cathedral Sydney today on the Occasion of the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Photo:

Queen Elizabeth shakes hands with Bishop Jack Dain outside St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, on 13 March 1977. Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane is at the Queen’s side, and Bishop John Reid is at centre. At right, Dean of the Cathedral, Lance Shilton, stands with Prince Philip. Photo courtesy Ramon Williams.