A Royal Visit to an Exhibition

In November, the Magna Carta, the historic document forced on England’s King John by rebellious barons in the year 1215 to curb his despotic power, was brought to the United States as the main focus of a Library of Congress exhibition called “Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor.” The exhibition was inaugurated by a current English royal, Princess Anne, who is Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter and is known as the Princess Royal. 

The exhibition is the overture to a year-long celebration in Britain and the U.S. marking the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, the Great Charter, whereby all the people of England, including the monarch, were for the first time declared subject to, and protected by, the rule of law. The barons forced King John to sign it at Runnymede, on the banks of the River Thames near Windsor.

“We take so much for granted in terms of our freedoms and expectations of freedoms and independence. Anniversaries such as this really are reminders of how far we have come in safeguarding our liberties,” Princess Anne declared in a speech in the ornate Great Hall of the Jefferson Library. “Nearly 800 years ago, the Magna Carta gave us our first concept of a society governed by the rule of law — a major step.” 

King John broke his commitment almost immediately, but the Magna Carta has resonated throughout history, and the theme of the current exhibition is the document’s influence on the Founding Fathers in drafting the American Constitution. The extremely rare parchment on display in Washington, written in Latin, was one of four surviving copies of the Great Charter and has for the past eight centuries been kept in the Lincoln Cathedral in the English Midlands.

Princess Anne, who was accompanied by her husband, Rear Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, cut the tape to open the exhibition. They then attended an elegant inauguration ceremony at which her arrival was heralded by a trumpet fanfare by U.S. Army trumpeters. A red-robed, all-male choir from the Temple Church in London sang George Frederic Handel’s anthem “Zadok the Priest,” composed for the coronation of the British King George II in 1727 (and performed in every coronation since), and also some clauses of the Magna Carta that had been set to music.

Referring to the Magna Carta’s continued relevance, Princess Anne said, “It is imperative that we instill these values, this understanding, in the next generation.”

In addition to opening the exhibition, Princess Anne’s engagements included braving an afternoon downpour to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery and unveiling a plaque commemorating members of the U.S. military in World War I — the so-called Great War — who were awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military decoration for valor. At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, she stood for a few moments alone in the rain, holding an umbrella, and then made a gesture of respect and walked slowly away.

The princess’ 48-hour visit was her first to Washington since 1994. The Magna Carta’s most recent “visit” was in 2009, when it was exhibited at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. But the Magna Carta also has an earlier American history. 

In 1939, the historic document was brought to the United States for exhibition at the New York World Fair. Still in America at the outbreak of World War II, it was considered too precious to risk returning to Britain, and, at the request of the British government, was stored in Fort Knox for safekeeping for the duration of the conflict.