Liturgical resources on the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

Posted on September 9, 2022 
Filed under Resources

Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder has made these resources available for use in churches.

They would also be very good to use in your personal prayers! (Click the image for a PDF version.)

Liturgical resources on the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

Thanksgiving for Her Majesty’s life and witness

Loving Lord and heavenly Father, we give thanks to you today for the extraordinary life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, especially her very clear trust in Jesus as her Saviour and determination to serve you as Lord. Thank you for her dedication to serving us her people, right to the end of her life. Thank you for her witness to Jesus as her hope and strength.

Although comforted in grief by the certainty of her presence now with you, we ask that we and all who grieve may know the ongoing consolation of your loving presence, and that peace which passes understanding, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for the Royal Family and all who grieve

We bring before you dear Lord, the entire Royal Family and all who were close to Her Majesty who will feel a great sense of loss. Grant them a good grief, which puts away stoicism and pretence. May they be a comfort and strength to one another. Unite in grief, those who have known conflict and division. Give wisdom to clergy who will minister to them during this time, that they will bring words of hope and life. We pray for those who have not previously known your love for them, that they may in this sad time, be inspired by Her Late Majesty’s trust in you, and turn to you for help. May they find consolation in the assurance of Her Late Majesty’s presence with you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For King Charles III – the traditional prayer for our monarch

O LORD, our heavenly Father, the high and mighty, King of kings, Lord of lords, the only Ruler of princes, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth; Most heartily we beseech thee with thy favour to behold our most gracious Sovereign Lord, King CHARLES; and so replenish him with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, that he may always incline to thy will, and walk in thy way. Endue him plenteously with heavenly gifts; grant him in health and wealth long to live; strengthen him that he may vanquish and overcome all his enemies; and finally, after this life, he may attain everlasting joy and felicity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Bishop Mark Calder
9 September 2022.

Also see:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

– 1 Timothy 2:1-6 (ESV).

Andy Geers and the team at PrayerMate have distributed this prayer you could use:

Almighty God, Heavenly King, thank you for the long life of your servant, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Thank you that she was a symbol of such stability through the huge changes seen during her seventy year reign. Thank you that throughout her life, her hope in you remained steadfast, as the true King who remains the same yesterday, today and forever. Thank you for her life of dedicated service to others, pointing us to Jesus, the Son of Man, who came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Comfort all who mourn her death: her family, her subjects, and all who admired and respected her.

Lord God, grant her son, His Majesty King Charles III, great wisdom and humility as king. May he know that he submits to a higher authority, that you are the one “who changes times and seasons; that you remove kings and set up kings;” (Daniel 2:21) May he reign with integrity and dignity just as his mother did before him. May he share the same hope in Christ, in whom there is forgiveness and reconciliation. Grant us all to keep our eyes fixed on you as the source of all hope and comfort in times of change, as the one who “will reign forever… to all generations” (Psalm 146:10). In Jesus’ name, Amen.