Reading Prince Harry’s Spare, I was repeatedly struck by the fact that Harry finds peace and community in nature, not in a church. He’s a spiritual person, but he seems to have a hodge-podge belief system and he came across as rather agnostic on organized religion. Well, Prince William has never been particularly religious or church-going either – he only goes to church on big holidays, and even then, he sometimes skips out on important events. Like the time he missed the Commonwealth Day church service to go on a lads’ ski trip, or the time he missed his daughter’s first Easter to spend time with Jecca Craig in Kenya. Well, as it turns out, William can’t even commit to the idea that he will eventually be named the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Could Prince William decide not to be the Supreme Governor of the Church of England when he succeeds King Charles as sovereign one day? Royal biographer Robert Hardman raises the question in his new book, The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, serialized in the Daily Mail and out Jan. 18. According to the excerpt, there is speculation that the Prince of Wales, 41, may not take the title, which has been affiliated with British sovereigns since King Henry VIII in the 1530s, because of his beliefs.

“In royal circles, it is no secret that he does not share the King’s sense of the spiritual, let alone the late Queen’s unshakeable devotion to the Anglican church,” Hardman writes of William in The Making of a King, according to the Daily Mail.

“’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 then nor do the large majority of the country. He might go at Christmas and Easter but that’s it,’ ” the author quotes a senior palace figure as saying. “’He very much respects the institutions but he is not instinctively comfortable in a faith environment.’ ”

Queen Elizabeth was known to attend church weekly throughout her record reign, and her “straightforward” faith was said to sustain her during the pandemic. British Parliament outlines that King Charles automatically became Supreme Governor of the Church of England upon his accession following the death of his mother in September 2022, and he described his faith as “deeply rooted” in the Church of England in his first speech as sovereign the following day.

The King, 75, has long shown an interest in interfaith relations and promised to maintain the Protestant faith and Church of England during his coronation ceremony on May 6, 2023. He can also appoint archbishops, bishops and deans of cathedrals within the Church of England on the advice of the Prime Minister — but William might do things differently one day.

In other differences between father and son, Hardman writes that Prince William favors box sets (television) where King Charles enjoys reading, and does not plan to be invested as the Prince of Wales with pomp and ceremony like his father did in 1969.

[From People]

Not to get too historical, but isn’t the whole point of British monarchy deeply tied to the Church of England? Like, it’s a package deal, ever since Henry VIII wanted to get a divorce. What’s William going to do when Charles dies, suddenly announce that he wants to cut ties with the Church of England? What will probably happen is that William will let it be known that he’s simply too lazy to take on the “Supreme Governor” job and everyone will busy themselves to find some work-around. Anyway, it’s certainly interesting – QEII was deeply religious, while Charles is definitely more of an omnist. And then there’s Peg, who would rather sit on the couch and watch TV or f–k off to his mistress’s estate. Also: note the little sidebar about William not wanting the PoW investiture.

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