GOD save the King.
I am an unashamed Royalist, always have been and always will be.
The idea of a President anybody fills me with dread.
This week I was fortunate to talk to the King in Westminster Hall when he kindly came to meet MPs and Peers.
As I watched the King mingle quietly with the hundreds of attendees, I recalled that 374 years ago his ancestor, Charles I, had been tried here before he was cruelly beheaded.
Such is our unique island story.
On Saturday, a new chapter opens in the life of our ancient kingdom.
The coronation of King Charles III, son of the longest reigning and most beloved monarch in our history, will be a remarkable moment.
While other monarchies exist, ours is the only one where the coronation takes place as part of a Christian ritual.
That faith will continue to play a key role in our island’s destiny.
Like his mother before him, the King will promise to rule with grace, nobility, wisdom and judgement - and to defend the Church of England.
At the very heart of the ceremony in Westminster Abbey, the new monarch, under God, will pledge to honour the people he serves.
He will be given be given the crown, orb and sceptre, which rested on the Queen’s coffin last September.
The symbolic handover consecrates him as our new head of state, without political power, but still of huge significance.
As a young soldier, I pledged allegiance to the Crown, as does everyone in our Armed Forces.
We were proud to serve our sovereign, a symbol of stability in an evolving and sometimes chaotic world.
Dynasties may rise and fall but our Royal family stands firm and long may they do so.