Royal Tragedy

People all over the world are joining the people of England in mourning the death of Princess Diana. The outpouring of grief in this country is simply staggering. No one could have anticipated the depth and breadth of feeling that is sweeping the land. Our hearts certainly go out to her bereaved children as well as to the others who lost their loved ones in the fatal car crash.

Long ago there was another royal tragedy, but with many differences.

Jesus was truly royal. He was the king of kings. Modern royalty is no more than a counterfeit of the divine. From ancient times emperors and kings have claimed divinity, and though few actually do that in this century, the sense that royalty is somehow supernatural remains. People bow down to kings and queens and treat them with a reverence that should only be given to God.

A king in ancient times was a man who ruled his people. Some were good and more were bad, but all were people of power and authority whose word alone could mean life or death. Jesus was a king of a far higher order than all before him and all since. His word was the ultimate power, which all in heaven and earth must obey. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. He only was entirely good, ruling his subjects solely for their benefit and blessing.

The days of powerful kings are gone, and the word king has lost its original meaning. All that remains is an empty shell of pomp, pageantry and tradition with no serious relevance to the ancient office of ruler. Individual members of royal families may be good people who are sincere and devoted to duty, but as royalty they have no place in the kingdom of God.

The human heart longs and yearns for contact with God. When that is not met, it turns to imitations and counterfeits. Royal families are often the best it can find to satisfy its desires for the greatness and glory of its creator. It creates an image in the likeness of God, and then bows down and worships it.

Diana wanted to be the people’s princess. She came down to the level of the ordinary man and woman, and people were deeply touched. Jesus was the real people’s prince. He too came down, but in his case it was a real descent from real royalty to total identification with his people. He didn’t just visit them and return to a palace. He became one of them and shared their sufferings to the ultimate limit.

Diana wanted to be the “queen of hearts”, and largely succeeded by her natural beauty and winning manner. Jesus only is the rightful king of hearts, and only his indwelling can meet the lasting and permanent needs of his people.

Like King Saul of old she died after visiting a spirit medium, which is abhorrent to God, and an evil example to the multitudes of her devoted followers. Her death was largely a result of her own mistakes and errors. Jesus died falsely accused after a blameless and faultless life of sinless purity. Her royal tragedy will go down in the history books as just a tragedy. His royal tragedy was turned 3 days later into a royal triumph.

God only knows the hearts of men, whether they be of high or low estate. Every good deed will receive its just reward. He only is the righteous judge, and every member of our race must stand before his judgement seat.

These are the words of the second commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” God will allow no other to take his place, or that of his Son Jesus Christ. All who do so will be subject to his judgement.


The same weekend the princess died, a godly friend of ours, one Robert Green of Canterbury, suffered a sudden heart attack and went to be with the Lord. Her departure from this world attracted far more attention than his, but his arrival in the next was a state occasion.