The younger generations of the royal family seem to be weighing up ways to modernise the monarchy, with Prince William considering how his beliefs align with his future duties. Photo / Getty Images
The younger generations of the royal family seem to be weighing up ways to modernise the monarchy, with Prince William considering how his beliefs align with his future duties. Photo / Getty Images
Despite the British monarchy’s inextricable ties to the Church of England, Prince William may be the first sovereign in 500 years to break away from their relationship.
Discussions in royal circles are centering around whether Prince William - who is next in line for the throne - will lay claim to the role of Supreme Governor of the Church of England that each monarch has taken up since 1531.
The Prince of Wales has significant respect for the church and holds it in high regard. He will usually join the royals for Christmas and Easter services and occasionally attend other significant events in the Anglican Church’s calendar.
However, the prince does not feel that he’s uniquely different from his future subjects as he does not regularly worship or attend services.
This has made some people wonder whether William is going to consider declining the official role of Supreme Governor; a duty performed by the British monarch since King Henry VIII led the English Reformation that created the Church of England as separated from the Catholic Church, reports the Daily Mail.
Royal commentator Robert Hardman’s new biography, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, looks into the topic which is allegedly gaining traction among those close to the royals.
“In royal circles, it is no secret that he does not share the King’s sense of the spiritual, let alone the late Queen’s unshakeable devotion to the Anglican Church,” wrote Hardman in the discussion about William’s view of religion.
Princess Charlotte (left), Prince William, Prince George, Prince Louis and Kate, Princess of Wales at the Christmas day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in Norfolk, England, last month. Photo / AP
“His father is very spiritual and happy to talk about faith but the Prince is not. He doesn’t go to church every Sunday, but then nor does the large majority of the country. He might go at Christmas and Easter but that’s it,” shared a senior palace official.
“He very much respects the institutions but he is not instinctively comfortable in a faith environment.”
Despite attending a confirmation service in 1997 where he committed to Anglicanism at the age of 14, Prince William is not a regular churchgoer. He is mainly seen at a “handful” of services that are usually tied to royal duties or important calendar events, along with baptisms, weddings, and funerals.
On the other hand, Queen Elizabeth II viewed the roles of both British monarch and of Supreme Governor of the Church of England with the utmost importance and respect. The late Queen attended weekly church services and was proud to be an Anglican Christian.
King Charles has always been devoted to the church too and attends services frequently, despite also being captivated by other faiths, such as Islam.
Prince William’s alleged views on faith reflect a time where Christianity itself has been faced with mounting disillusionment and disregard from the public as well as declining membership across the Western world, largely attributed to younger generations who see the world more through an agnostic lens.
According to a Church Statistics report, only a generation earlier, church membership in the UK sat at around 30 per cent of people but has since freefalled.
Now, in line with the trends in falling numbers, membership is meant to sit at only 8.4 per cent of the population - or 2.4 million people - by 2025.
The typical weekly church attendance at Anglican services sat at 654,000 in 2022. Compared to 2009, there has been a decline of 228,000 regular churchgoers.
In terms of age, 36 per cent of the regular Anglican service attendees were 70 or older, 46 per cent were between 18 and 69, and just 18 per cent were 17 or younger.
The monarchy’s relationship with the Church of England spans back centuries, when Henry VIII split away from Rome and the Catholic Church’s control in 1531.
Similar to how the Pope sits as the head of the Catholic Church, by tradition the ruling British monarch is crowned “Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England” in reference to their leadership role as a protector and promoter of the faith.
As part of the coronation ceremony undergone by monarchs, they must also swear an oath to maintain the Anglican Church.
The monarch is tasked with appointing archbishops and bishops. This is done on the advice of the Prime Minister, who uses a list of names provided by the Church Commission.
Those selected must swear their allegiance to the Crown when appointed and can only resign after being granted royal authority.
Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales, attend the closing ceremony of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly in Edinburgh, on May 27, 2021. Photo / AP
The General Synod, which is the legislative assembly for the Church of England, is opened every five years by the monarch. Any “law” that goes through the General Synod must be given royal assent if passed.
Hardman’s new bombshell book also discloses how the King and the Prince of Wales have different ideas on how they would like their coronations to run.
Hardman discusses how William allegedly indicated that despite finding Charles’ ceremony “brilliant”, he wants his to be shorter - just over an hour - and “more discreet”, without such a “spiritual” vibe.
As “one of the least ideological people I have ever met”, according to a royal staffer, Prince William does not surround himself with academics and scholars in the way that his father enjoys and frequents with them.
Hardman notes that the main thing that riles King Charles is commentators sharing their opinion that he will only sit as a caretaker monarch until William comes in as the “change-maker.”
However, those comments are not backed up by those close to him.
“When you start much later in your life, inevitably you’ve got more experiences to fall back on and you will have more opinions,” said Princess Anne.
Annabel Elliott, Queen Camilla’s younger sister, thinks the same.
