William ‘could cut ties with Church of England’ as king

Jan 17, 2024 by Jill

by Kate Mansey and Kaya Burgess, The Times:

Unlike his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, who regularly attended church with a bank note in her handbag for the collection, the Prince of Wales is not known for his Sunday attendance.

Now a biography has gone further, saying that Prince William could become the first British monarch to break official ties with the Church of England. William is also said to want to make his coronation service “less spiritual”, “shorter” by cutting it to about an hour and ten minutes, and “more discreet”

The revelations feature in a book, Charles III: The Inside Story, by the journalist Robert Hardman. He writes: “In royal circles, it is no secret that [the Prince of Wales] does not share the King’s sense of the spiritual, let alone the late Queen’s unshakeable devotion to the Anglican church.”

Hardman quotes “a senior Palace figure” saying: “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 do the large majority of the country. He might go at Christmas and Easter but that’s it. He very much respects the institutions but he is not instinctively comfortable in a faith environment.”

Last month William accompanied his wife, the Princess of Wales, at her annual carol concert at Westminster Abbey along with their three children.

William, 41, was confirmed into the Anglican faith at the age of 14 in 1997. However, he is thought to go to church only “a handful” of times throughout the year, mainly at Christmas, Easter or for weddings, funerals and christenings. The King, by comparison, sees his faith and connection to other religions as a major part of his life and work.

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