asked the Minister for External Affairs whether he has received any communication from the British Government regarding the proposed Coronation Oath in connection with the accestion of King George VI; if he will state the terms of the proposed Oath, and whether the Executive Council have agreed to the terms of the Oath.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Coronation Oath.
I was kept informed of certain changes which were being introduced into the Coronation Oath for the purpose, on the one hand, of bringing it into harmony with the Statute of Westminster, and, on the other, of making it clear that that part of the Oath which deals with the Protestant reformed religion concerned the United Kingdom alone. The question of obtaining our approval for the Oath did not arise. I had made it clear that our attitude towards the whole Coronation ceremony must be one of detachment and protest while our country was partitioned and while the Coronation Service implied discrimination—as it still does—against the religion to which the majority of our people belong.