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the church of england has never crpwned a divorced King

(121 Posts)
lemsip Sat 31-Dec-22 22:35:18

Experts play down Coronation crisis fears after royal author Anthony Holden suggested King Charles's ceremony could be invalidated because of his 1994 affair confession
Anthony Holden argued any coronation was likely to be invalid
The Church of England has never crowned a divorced man as King, let alone one who has publicly confessed to adultery, he said
It would require a revision of the coronation oath.

grandtanteJE65 Sun 01-Jan-23 13:24:11

In ecclesiastical terms King Charles was a divorced man until such time as Princess Diana died - after that he automatically became a widower and thus free to re-marry.

And as the Church of England does now recognise divorce and the right of divorces to marry again, there is no reason to make trouble regarding the coronation.

The charitable view, which the church should certainly embrace, is that anyone who has made a public confession of adultery would not have done so, had he not repented it. A sin that you have repented no longer counts against you.

Was King George IV not already divorced when he was crowned? Maybe not, but an adulterous one, well-known in his day as an adulterer has been crowned, in the person of Edward VII and no-one made a fuss about that!

There may be good reasons for modernising the coronation oath, but the King's marital status and history is not one of them.

Jaberwok Sun 01-Jan-23 13:08:10

Camilla is not a Roman Catholic. Her former husband is as are her children, as required by a mixed faith marriage. she however, has retained her Anglican faith, therefore her divorce is recognised. The C of E was founded on Adultery, Divorce, and Remarriage, in the case of Henry, in order to legitimise an expected baby, the future Elizabeth 1st!! Many crowned heads were adulterers, most Hanovarian kings, except George 111rd, previous to that, all Stuart kings, most notably Charles 11nd. Edward V11th was a serial adulterer long before he was crowned, so I really don't think the C of E will have too much trouble in crowning our present king who has subsequently
married the woman he truly loves, and his Queen,whom I understand is also to be crowned.

Blondiescot Sun 01-Jan-23 12:41:27

Of course, if we abolished the Monarchy, there would be no need for all of this... wink

Barmeyoldbat Sun 01-Jan-23 12:26:15

I also remember Charles saying about never being head of the C OF E .

Oreo Sun 01-Jan-23 12:23:25

Lathyrus

Umm, well as his first wife is dead, it’s not relevant.

This

lemsip Sun 01-Jan-23 12:23:21

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/dec/29/king-charless-coronation-must-reflect-a-changed-britain

Grany Sun 01-Jan-23 11:33:21

Why coronation

First there needs to be a law to remove the Windsors use of secret veto. It will be impossible to pass any laws through government until this is done #AbolishTheMonarchy

@ScotExpress
Nicola Sturgeon under pressure over SNP policy on the monarchy as majority of Scexiteers want to dump King Charles.

Dutch monarchy support down 50% the race is on!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=2W2eyFQC-K4

25Avalon Sun 01-Jan-23 11:22:26

There was a time when a monarch was not allowed to marry a Roman Catholic, yet alone a divorced one. Times change.

Grantanow Sun 01-Jan-23 11:17:02

Twaddle. Lack of a coronation, 'valid' or not, is irrelevant to his assuming the throne which also makes him Head of the CofE. He is already King and the coronation is simply public display and some religious activity.

Normandygirl Sun 01-Jan-23 10:52:23

Isn't the whole purpose of the coronation for the Church of England to acknowledge the King's divine right to rule by anointing with holy oil etc? How could other faiths be represented in such a service?

Lathyrus Sun 01-Jan-23 10:43:57

I suppose I find it all a bit silly. This working a way around the “rules” of a religion.

Your friend lived as a wife but couldn’t marry? Presumably she confessed her “sin” every week and got absolution to go on ‘sinning” the next week?

Give me a straightforward “let’s move on. I wish you well” divorce every time.

At least it’s without hypocrisy.

Yammy Sun 01-Jan-23 10:37:17

Lathyrus

Yammy

Anniebach

Charles did not marry Camilla in church as did Megan marry
Harry. Charles and Camilla had a civil marriage and a church blessing.

Camilla's first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles was a Roman Catholic one and they have to be annulled by special dispensation which is why Charles did not marry her in church.
So if he Crowns her as his queen he is not married to a divorced woman but in the eyes of some Catholics a bigamist by Church law, though by Civil law she was divorced when she married Prince Charles.
A lot of legal work which I am sure theywill find a way round.

A divorced woman as Queen consort?

That’s nothing new. Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II. Queen Eleanor of England 1154AD.

Formerly wife of the King of France. The Catholic Church had no problem with that. Or Louis’ subsequent marriage either.

I wasn't saying she was a divorced woman I was saying that in the eyes of some Roman Catholics she is not divorced. That is why they were not married in a Church of England service.
I have a friend who has been in the same predicament for the last 35 years she could not get her marriage annulled by the Roman Catholic church although she is divorced in Civil law.
She has chosen not to marry her partner of all those years so she could take communion, who is actually a Catholic like her. She has no children for the same reason as they would be considered illegitimate.
Maybe medieval kings did things differently and if my history is correct Francois had his marriage annulled by the pope as Eleanor had only produced girls and no boys to inherit his throne. If the marriage was annulled by the then-pope then Eleanor was free to marry.

DaisyAnne Sun 01-Jan-23 10:29:29

MawtheMerrier

You may be thinking of this FP, but I fear that your interpretation seems to be at odds with his actual words.

www.princeofwales.gov.uk/will-prince-wales-be-defender-faith-or-defender-faith

During the recording of ‘The Sunday Hour’, which aired on BBC Radio 2 in February 2015, interviewer Diane Louise Jordan reminded The Prince that he had been described as ‘faith’s defender’ and pointed out that he had once described himself as ‘a defender of faith’. The Prince clarified he would in fact be 'Defender of The Faith', saying :

No, I didn’t describe myself as a defender: I said I would rather be seen as ‘Defender of Faith’, all those years ago, because, as I tried to describe, I mind about the inclusion of other people’s faiths and their freedom to worship in this country. And it’s always seemed to me that, while at the same time being Defender of The Faith, you can also be protector of faiths. It was very interesting that 20 years or more after I mentioned this – which has been frequently misinterpreted – the Queen, in her Jubilee address to the faith leaders, said that as far as the role of the Church of England is concerned, it is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country. I think in that sense she was confirming what I was really trying to say – perhaps not very well – all those years ago. And so I think you have to see it as both. You have to come from your own Christian standpoint – in the case I have as Defender of the Faith – and ensuring that other people’s faiths can also be practised.

Thank you Maw. It's an interesting quote, isn't it.

Lathyrus Sun 01-Jan-23 10:22:59

Yammy

Anniebach

Charles did not marry Camilla in church as did Megan marry
Harry. Charles and Camilla had a civil marriage and a church blessing.

Camilla's first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles was a Roman Catholic one and they have to be annulled by special dispensation which is why Charles did not marry her in church.
So if he Crowns her as his queen he is not married to a divorced woman but in the eyes of some Catholics a bigamist by Church law, though by Civil law she was divorced when she married Prince Charles.
A lot of legal work which I am sure theywill find a way round.

A divorced woman as Queen consort?

That’s nothing new. Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II. Queen Eleanor of England 1154AD.

Formerly wife of the King of France. The Catholic Church had no problem with that. Or Louis’ subsequent marriage either.

DaisyAnne Sun 01-Jan-23 10:19:27

Fleurpepper

I remember it very clearly, but would have to look for evidence. No time today. Perhaps someone else.

It makes perfect sense, don't you believe? A king is for all, not just CofE.

No, it doesn't make any sense at all.

Elegran Sun 01-Jan-23 10:15:35

Grandmabatty

Henry the eighth?

The Church of England is in existence as a RESULT of Henry VIII wanting a divorce, so they are hardly in a position to take the high ground.

The Church in the UK recognises divorce as a way to end a bad marriage. They used to ban remarrying in church but accepted civil marriage for divorced people. Charles and Camilla did not marry in church.

As for not crowning a king because he had committed adultery - given the way women have always made themselves available to royalty, and royalty's preference for married women who would not make awkward demands on behalf of their children (because their husbands would be legally assumed to have parented them) the ArchBishops must have set the crown on the heads of many known serial adulterers.

MawtheMerrier Sun 01-Jan-23 10:11:55

You may be thinking of this FP, but I fear that your interpretation seems to be at odds with his actual words.

www.princeofwales.gov.uk/will-prince-wales-be-defender-faith-or-defender-faith

During the recording of ‘The Sunday Hour’, which aired on BBC Radio 2 in February 2015, interviewer Diane Louise Jordan reminded The Prince that he had been described as ‘faith’s defender’ and pointed out that he had once described himself as ‘a defender of faith’. The Prince clarified he would in fact be 'Defender of The Faith', saying :

No, I didn’t describe myself as a defender: I said I would rather be seen as ‘Defender of Faith’, all those years ago, because, as I tried to describe, I mind about the inclusion of other people’s faiths and their freedom to worship in this country. And it’s always seemed to me that, while at the same time being Defender of The Faith, you can also be protector of faiths. It was very interesting that 20 years or more after I mentioned this – which has been frequently misinterpreted – the Queen, in her Jubilee address to the faith leaders, said that as far as the role of the Church of England is concerned, it is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country. I think in that sense she was confirming what I was really trying to say – perhaps not very well – all those years ago. And so I think you have to see it as both. You have to come from your own Christian standpoint – in the case I have as Defender of the Faith – and ensuring that other people’s faiths can also be practised.

Fleurpepper Sun 01-Jan-23 10:10:06

Many of us at the time thought 'good, about time'- and hoped it would mean changes in the Lords too, and a deconnection for so many institutions with the one CofE Church.

Fleurpepper Sun 01-Jan-23 10:06:24

In 1994, Charles triggered controversy when he said he would be defender of faith rather than Defender of the Faith, in a desire to reflect Britain’s religious diversity. There were suggestions that the coronation oath might be altered.

Yammy Sun 01-Jan-23 10:03:43

Anniebach

Charles did not marry Camilla in church as did Megan marry
Harry. Charles and Camilla had a civil marriage and a church blessing.

Camilla's first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles was a Roman Catholic one and they have to be annulled by special dispensation which is why Charles did not marry her in church.
So if he Crowns her as his queen he is not married to a divorced woman but in the eyes of some Catholics a bigamist by Church law, though by Civil law she was divorced when she married Prince Charles.
A lot of legal work which I am sure theywill find a way round.

Fleurpepper Sun 01-Jan-23 10:02:12

I remember it very clearly, but would have to look for evidence. No time today. Perhaps someone else.

It makes perfect sense, don't you believe? A king is for all, not just CofE.

MawtheMerrier Sun 01-Jan-23 09:52:00

I remember Charles clearly saying a long time ago, that he could never be Head of the CofE Church- because as King of a very multicultural country, with so many religions and none, it would not be appropriate

Can you provide any evidence for this FP because I don’t believe he said that.

DaisyAnne Sun 01-Jan-23 09:41:46

Pittcity

It's the 21st century and there are much more important things to worry about.

I can only agree.

Anniebach Sun 01-Jan-23 09:33:25

Charles did not marry Camilla in church as did Megan marry
Harry. Charles and Camilla had a civil marriage and a church blessing.

Fleurpepper Sun 01-Jan-23 09:26:26

lemsip

the subject is about a divorced man being crowned king. nothing to do with an ex being alive or dead!

What is your view then? Should he not be crowned King?

I remember Charles clearly saying a long time ago, that he could never be Head of the CofE Church- because as King of a very multicultural country, with so many religions and none, it would not be appropriate. I feel this is a much more important issue and I am sad that this is not been mentionned of late. The official links to the CofE in Government and the Legal/educationa,, etc, system- should be broken asap. If Heads of religious groups are to remain in the Lords, representatives of the other main faiths should be there too.