Prince William’s new commitment to the Church of England “feels strategic” and “insulting” after years of not regularly attending church, according to Queen Elizabeth II’s former chaplain.
The Prince of Wales is due to attend the enthronement of the Archbishop of Canterbury this week and an aide told The Sunday Times that he is ready to reveal his “quiet faith.”
However, the story appears to have gone down badly with Gavin Ashenden, Queen Elizabeth II’s chaplain from 2008 to 2017, who told U.K. radio station LBC: “I feel a bit insulted.”
Why It Matters
Prince William will become Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the Anglican Church’s ceremonial head, when he becomes king on the death of his father King Charles III.
However, unlike Charles and Elizabeth, he has never expressed his own deeply felt approach to religion and is known to mainly attend church on family occasions or formal occasions like Christmas and Easter.
What to Know
“The thing is, Christianity, a man’s religious faith, it’s a matter of intense integrity, really,” Ashenden said. “People die for it in places. They give their lives for it. The standards are very high.
“You forgive your enemies, you love your enemies, it. You’re engaged in a crusade against evil. It’s a big thing, and the problem is that Robert Hardman, who is the best biographer, has described William in the past as not particularly religious and beset by doubts about whether he should head up a church he doesn’t attend much.
“So, he’s a really sweet man with sort of vacant ideas about God and the difficulty with this is it feels strategic, it feels political. And the trouble is I understand why they’re doing that, of course, I do, but if you’re a passionate Christian frankly it’s insulting.”
Elizabeth spoke openly about the comfort she drew from her Christian beliefs and Charles has his own philosophy of religion, partly inspired by his interest in other faiths like Buddhism. Sometimes, he has concerned the Church of England, famously in the 1990s with the suggestion that as king he might be the defender of faith in general as well the Defender of the Faith, meaning Anglicanism.
William, though, has tended to keep his faith private, prompting periodic speculation about how he will approach his future role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
He was baptized as an infant and confirmed into the Church of England at the age of 14, but has never been visibly devout.
Nevertheless, The Sunday Times reported that William both believes in and wants to support the church, despite not being a regular churchgoer. He wants to build a strong bond with the leadership of the Anglican Church, but to be authentic in how he does so.
What People Are Saying
Robert Hardman, author of Charles III: New King, wrote in the Daily Mail: “Prince William is an intensely private man and, like most of us, wants to keep his faith to himself. Nonetheless, these latest words feel significant and encouraging.”
“Prince William has not been visited by a flash of light like St Paul on the road to Damascus,” he continued. “However, his latest statement, ahead of this week’s important moment for the Church of England, shows two things. First, that he wants to reassure the doubters that he fully grasps the role and importance of the Church.
“Second, it shows that he is moving up a gear in his preparations for the Throne. Prince William has zero wish to shoulder his destiny any sooner than he absolutely has to. However, in seeking to develop a rapport with the new Archbishop—‘in my own way’—he is showing a clear-headed grasp of reality.”
What Happens Next
Dame Sarah Mullally will be the first female Archbishop of Canterbury after her enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral, on Wednesday.