He takes the crown as heaven’s chosen will,
No lesser voice may question what is given;
The sacred bond between the throne and still
Obedient realm reflects the law of heaven.
No earthly claim may counter what is driven
By right divine, beyond all shifting sands—
He holds the crown by right no court withstands.
The scepter rests where lineage has decreed,
And kingship flows not from the people’s hands,
But from a source no mortal may impede—
He holds the crown by right no court withstands.
Yet murmurs rise where once was quiet accord,
The purse withheld, the counsel left unheard;
The Commons press against their sovereign lord,
And seek to bind him fast with written word.
What once was law unquestioned now is stirred,
As parchment lines attempt what none had planned—
He holds the crown by right no court withstands.
But still he rules where Parliament is stayed,
And governs long without their firm command,
Believing time will see dissent allayed—
He holds the crown by right no court withstands.
The tension breaks; the realm divides in force,
No longer words but steel and shot decide;
The king must choose a most uncertain course,
As subjects take opposing, armed sides.
The field is red where brother turns from bride,
And all the land is split by war’s demand—
He holds the crown by right no court withstands.
Yet even now, within the clash and cry,
He will not yield the ground on which he stands,
Nor grant that any court may bid him die—
He holds the crown by right no court withstands.
But tides will turn where once they seemed secure,
And victories shift like shadows in the day;
The cause he trusts proves less than wholly sure,
And power slips, though still he will not sway.
Captured at last, he faces what may lay
A king beneath the reach of mortal hand—
He holds the crown by right no court withstands.
To trial brought, he will not recognize
The claim of those who judge by their command,
For no such court beneath the heavens lies—
He holds the crown by right no court withstands.
And so the end no crown had known before:
A king made subject to the axe’s fall;
The ancient bond is severed at its core,
And death asserts a final, leveling call.
Yet even then, before assembled all,
He stands unmoved, refusing their demand—
He holds the crown by right no court withstands.
The blade descends; the silence answers all,
And with that stroke, the realm must understand
That even kings may answer to the fall—
He holds the crown by right no court withstands.
Envoi:
O monarch firm against the shifting sands,
You would not yield to any court’s commands;
Yet fate arose not held in mortal hands,
And proved a truth no crown alone withstands:
He holds the crown by right no court withstands.