Prince William ‘must accept’ his future role as head of the Anglican Church or ‘step aside and abdicate’, Queen Elizabeth II» said the former chaplain.
Gavin Ashenden told GB News he believed information contained in an explosive royal book by Daily Mail journalist Robert Hardman that William might relinquish his role as supreme governor of the Church of England.
The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy quotes a senior palace official as saying William “is not instinctively comfortable in a religious environment.”
Karwai Tang/WireImage
Ashenden, chaplain to the Queen from 2008 to 2017, said: “I think it’s very interesting and it’s almost certainly true. William shows no signs of being sensitive to the dynamism of the Christian faith.
“And in that sense he is very representative of his generation, but I don’t think he understands the monarchy because although a lot of people have talked about abolishing the Church of England and changing our constitutional arrangements, they are immensely complex and they go back 500 years of legislation… it would take an army of lawyers ten years to do it.
“So I think he either has to accept the fact that this is a role that he plays, whether he likes it or not, and which is actually part of the burden of the monarchy, or if he feels it so strongly and he can’t do it, then step aside and abdicate and see if there’s anyone else in the royal succession who can.”
Hardman wrote in his book: “The prospect of having a future monarch who is not head of the Commonwealth is, however, not as great a leap in the royal imagination as having a monarch who is not supreme governor of the Church of England. .
“In royal circles, it is no secret that he does not share the King’s spiritual sense, let alone the late Queen’s unwavering devotion to the Anglican Church.”
A senior palace official told Hardman: “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 that’s the case in the vast majority of the country either. He might go at Christmas and Easter, but that’s it.
“He has a lot of respect for institutions, but he is not instinctively comfortable in a faith-based environment.”
Jack Royston is News weekchief royal correspondent based in London. You can find it on X, formerly Twitterhas @jack_royston and read his stories on News weekIt is The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We would like to hear from you.
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