The new King, Charles III has walked back a statement that troubled many Christians. Rather than be the defender of the faith – a title Defensor Fidei – that dates back to Henry VIII even before he defected from Catholicism, a younger Charles declared he would become the defender of all faiths.
This sped around the Christian world, pre-internet, back in 1994. It was suggested that he might try to change the title. And as the late Queen made ever more Christian statements, especially in her Christmas speeches, the alleged contrast grew wider.
Charles recanted in 2015. On his official site it tells the story this way “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 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.”
https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/will-prince-wales-be-defender-faith-or-defender-faith
In that lengthy and complicated paragraph, the then Prince of Wales declares himself to be a Christian, and to defend that faith, not necessarily the Anglican version of it.
Which fits with descriptions of him following his father – and paternal grandmother and nun Alice’s – Greek Orthodoxy. He was reported as taking several “clandestine” retreats to mount Athos, the Orthodox monastery on the coast of northern Greece.
‘”There is no question that the British royal is Orthodox in his heart,” an Athonite monk told a guardian reporter. “Sadly, he is very constrained by his position.”
He went on retreat after the death of Diana in 1997 and again in 2004 and an Abbott from the mount was reported to be a regular visitor to Highgrove, his private house. He is also reported to have a collection of icons in his study at Highgrove – which one would expect from a committed Orthodox (big O) Christian.
In his first speech as King he said “The role and the duties of Monarchy also remain, as does the Sovereign’s particular relationship and responsibility towards the Church of England – the Church in which my own faith is so deeply rooted.
“In that faith, and the values it inspires, I have been brought up to cherish a sense of duty to others, and to hold in the greatest respect the precious traditions, freedoms and responsibilities of our unique history and our system of parliamentary government.
“As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.” https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/the-king-s-speech-charles-first-address-to-the-nation-in-full-20220910-p5bgz0.html
If we take him seriously he declares that he belives in God, he was bought up to be an Anglican christian and he remains one.
His most recent remarks came as King, to a gathering of religious leaders on September 16.
“My Lord Archbishop, Dean, Ladies and Gentlemen. I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to meet you all, so soon after my Accession, in what are inevitably the saddest of circumstances for me and my Family. I have been touched by your kind words of condolence more than I can possibly say. They mean a great deal to me.
“I also wanted, before all of you today, to confirm my determination to carry out my responsibilities as Sovereign of all communities around this country and the Commonwealth and in a way which reflects the world in which we now live.
“I am a committed Anglican Christian, and at my Coronation I will take an oath relating to the settlement of the Church of England. At my Accession, I have already solemnly given– as has every Sovereign over the last 300 years – an Oath which pledges to maintain and preserve the Protestant faith in Scotland.
“I have always thought of Britain as a ‘community of communities.’ That has led me to understand that the Sovereign has an additional duty – less formally recognized but to be no less diligently discharged. It is the duty to protect the diversity of our country, including by protecting the space for Faith itself and its practise through the religions, cultures, traditions and beliefs to which our hearts and minds direct us as individuals. This diversity is not just enshrined in the laws of our country, it is enjoined by my own faith. As a member of the Church of England, my Christian beliefs have love at their very heart. By my most profound convictions, therefore – as well as by my position as Sovereign – I hold myself bound to respect those who follow other spiritual paths, as well as those who seek to live their lives in accordance with secular ideals.” https://www.royal.uk/kings-remarks-faith-leaders
Having declared himself an Anglican – his personal faith could range from liberal to Anglo – catholic to Evangelical.
But his Greek Orthodoxy influence is extant, he is creedally orthodox.
As with the Queen, it may be that his Christmas talks tell us more and more about his beliefs as time goes on. We probably have to wait.