Gavin Ashenden, a former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II, has accused King Charles of breaching his Coronation oath and abandoning Christian allegiance, after Buckingham Palace altered the monarch’s traditional title in this year’s Sovereign Grant Annual Report, replacing “Defender of the Faith” with “Protector of the Space for Faith within the Multi-faith Nation.”
Gavin Ashenden, who served as a chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II for nine years, has accused King Charles of violating the oath he swore at his Coronation to uphold the Christian faith. The accusation follows Buckingham Palace’s decision to change the monarch’s traditional title within this year’s Sovereign Grant Annual Report, dropping “Defender of the Faith” in favour of “Protector of the Space for Faith within the Multi-faith Nation.” Ashenden has described the change as deeply alarming, marking a sharp contrast with recent public remarks from the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has spoken positively about the King’s engagement with the Church of England.
Ashenden’s criticism
Ashenden left his role as royal chaplain after criticising a church service in which a Muslim student had been invited to recite from the Koran, a background that informs his latest intervention. Responding to the title change, he said the King “has deserted Christian allegiance, turned his back on his Coronation oath [and] repudiated the support and promotion of a Christian culture.”
He went further still, questioning the King’s fitness for office in light of the change: “Some are asking whether his behaviour is sufficiently subversive as to raise questions about his capacity to fulfil the office of King.”
A contrasting view from the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashenden’s remarks stand in sharp contrast to comments made earlier this year by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally. Speaking in January, Dame Sarah described her discussions with King Charles as “encouraging,” saying the monarch, who serves as the technical head of the Church of England, had shown himself to be “a great supporter” of the institution.
According to Dame Sarah, the King had been keen to learn about her plans for the Church’s future direction during their discussions. “He is a great supporter of the Church of England, and, you know, we share the desire to see a Church that is confident and one that speaks to the Christian hope,” she said.
Asked whether the King had shared his own views on the Church’s future direction, Dame Sarah explained that he had instead been focused on understanding her own vision for the institution, much as others have been. She said she had used the opportunity to set out her priorities to the King directly. “I shared with the King that I hope to be the shepherd, to care for people in their parishes, for our clergy, to support them, to enable them to do what they can do, but also to speak of the Christian hope, not just within the Church and the Anglican Communion, but also into the world and providing hospitality at a time where there’s a lot of challenges for people,” she said.
