Claims that Prince Charles will amend the coronation oath to become “Defender of Faith,” as opposed to the “Defender of the Faith” are unfounded, a spokesman for the Prince of Wales says.On Nov 13 the Daily Telegraph reported that a senior source said “there have been lots of discussions” of altering the oath to make it multi-faith.
Prince Charles “would like to be known as the Defender of Faith which is a subtle but hugely symbolic shift,” the source told the Telegraph.
However, the Prince of Wales’ press spokesman told us there were no plans to alter the oath to accommodate multi-cultural sensitivities. Nor does Prince Charles have the authority under law to amend the oath.
“While the Accession plans have been updated and will continue to be so when required, no work has been done by Clarence House or the Prince of Wales himself on planning the Coronation, including on the wording of the Coronation Oath or the make-up of the Coronation Service, nor have any discussions been held on the matter,” Clarence House said.
Clarence House Assistant Press Officer Sophie Isachsen added that “the Prince of Wales has instructed that we do not make any preparations for the Coronation in any way – simply because there will be ample time for that after the Accession.”
The title Fidei Defensor was granted to Henry VIII by Pope Leo X in 1521 in recognition of Henry's book, Assertio Septem Sacramentorum (Defence of the Seven Sacraments), which defended the sacramental nature of marriage and the supremacy of the Pope in matters of faith and church order.
Following his break with Rome in 1530, the title was revoked by Pope Paul III.
However, in 1544 Parliament restored the title in recognition of his role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Church of Ireland, naming him: Henricus Octavus, Dei Gratia, Angliae, Franciae, et Hiberniae Rex, Fidei Defensor, et in Terra Ecclesiae Anglicanae et Hibernicae Supremum Caput.
In response to past queries as to his religious beliefs, Clarence House has stated that the Prince of Wales is a “committed Christian with a strong personal faith.”
However,“ he believes very strongly that the world in which we live can only become a safer and more united place if we all make the effort to tolerate, accept and understand cultures, beliefs and faiths different from our own,” Clarence House said.
In 1994, the Prince said of his future role as Head of the Church of England, which he would assume when he becomes King: “I personally would rather see it as Defender of Faith, not ‘The Faith’.”
If the coronation oath is given in Latin, Prince Charles’ wishes could be granted as Fidei Defensor can be translated either as defender of faith or defender of the faith.
However, the 1953 Royal Titles Act amended the styling of the Sovereign held by Elizabeth II during the first year of her reign, and that held by her father George VI from “By the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith” “By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
Removing the article “the” would require an Act of Parliament, while a number of statutes govern the declarations and oaths which must be made by a new monarch. In 1688 Parliament passed the 1689 Coronation Oath (1 Will & Mar chap 6) requiring King William and Queen Mary, as joint monarchs, to swear an oath during their coronation.
The Act of Settlement 1701 and the Accession Declaration Act 1910 made the 1689 Oath a statutory requirement, requiring the monarch to “maintaine the Laws of God the true profession of the Gospell and the Protestant reformed religion established by law [...] and [...] preserve unto the bishops and clergy of this realm and to the churches committed to their charge all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain unto them or any of them.”
At her coronation in 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury:
“Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel? Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law? Will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England? And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England, and to the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges, as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?” To which she replied “All this I promise to do.”
The legal duty the Crown thus owes toward its subjects arising from the oath according to Halsbury’s Laws Vol 8 (2), para 39: 3-5, are “to maintain the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel, and the protestant reformed religion established by law, to the utmost of the Sovereign's power; to maintain and preserve inviolable the settlement of the Church of England, and its doctrine, worship, discipline and government as by law established in England; and to preserve unto the bishops and clergy of England, and to the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them.”
On his own initiative, Prince Charles has no authority to amend or rescind any portion of the Oath. However, should he insist on this point and the government were amenable to the change, precedent exists for changing the coronation oath without recourse to Parliament. The present Queen swore a slightly different version of the oath to the 1689 version, as required by law.
However, her modified oath maintained the established Protestant religion in the United Kingdom.
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(Source: RI)