The English Hymnal (1906)
The English Hymnal with Tunes
A verified public-domain excerpt for this text is still being set. The folio is catalogued and linked below; an original Sub Rosa rendering will follow.
What it is
An Anglo-Catholic hymnal edited by Percy Dearmer and Ralph Vaughan Williams, published in 1906, that became one of the most musically distinguished hymnals in the history of Anglican worship. It introduced English folk-song arrangements and Vaughan Williams's own settings (including Sine Nomine for 'For All the Saints') and was adopted by a significant minority of Church of England parishes alongside or instead of Hymns Ancient and Modern. As the hymnal that represented the highest standards of Anglican choral tradition in the early-to-mid 20th century, it would have been familiar in major royal chapels and choral foundations including St George's Windsor.
Why it still matters
Its hymns are still sung throughout the Anglican Communion; many—including 'He Who Would Valiant Be' and 'For All the Saints'—remain powerful vehicles for devotional formation.
Kept alongside
Hymns Ancient and Modern
The dominant hymnal of Victorian and Edwardian England, first published in 1861 under the editorial leadership of Rev. Henry Williams Baker and with music edited by William Henry Monk. It sold 35 million copies by 1901 alone and was used in over 76 percent of Church of England parishes by 1892. The royal family worshipped at St George's Chapel Windsor and the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle throughout the Victorian and Edwardian periods, where this hymnal governed congregational song. Its blend of ancient Latin translations and modern evangelical hymns shaped the devotional formation of every generation of the Windsor dynasty from Victoria onward.
Book of Common Prayer — Queen Victoria's Wedding and Windsor Chapel Copies
The Royal Collection Trust holds two documented personal copies of the Book of Common Prayer belonging to Queen Victoria. The first was given by her mother, the Duchess of Kent, on her wedding day (10 February 1840), inscribed 'Given To my beloved Victoria on her Wedding Day by Her most affectionate Mother,' with Victoria's monogram on the binding and a gold VICTORIA bookmark set with gemstones. The second was used in the private chapel at Windsor Castle, stamped with the cipher VR (Victoria Regina). Victoria attended chapel regularly throughout her life, and the BCP ordered her family's Sunday worship — a practice continued without interruption under every subsequent Windsor monarch.
Elizabeth II's Christmas Broadcasts (Annual Theological Addresses, 1952–2021)
Queen Elizabeth II's annual Christmas broadcasts, delivered from 1952 to 2021, are among the very few public addresses she wrote substantially herself, and they returned consistently to Christian Scripture and the person of Jesus Christ. In 2000 she stated that 'the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life'; in 2008 she held up 'the example of Jesus of Nazareth' directly. She cited the Good Samaritan parable in multiple broadcasts and quoted Scripture in nearly every address. Reaching tens of millions of viewers globally each year, these broadcasts constitute the most sustained public Christian testimony by any modern head of state.