Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2016 January 4

= January 4 =

Religious Qualification for the British Crown
Succession to the Crown Act 2013 states that "The provision of the Act of Settlement requiring the monarch to be a Protestant continues". Am I not right in thinking that the monarch can be any religion except Catholic, and not necessarily a Protestant Christian? Rojomoke (talk) 13:11, 4 January 2016 (UTC)


 * It does say so in the Act of Settlement - the first section says they have to be protestant, the second section deals with Roman Catholics, and the third section makes further provisions (taking effect after William and Mary [Ed: and Anne]) for future heirs to be in communion with the Church of England. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 13:33, 4 January 2016 (UTC)


 * The official website of the British Monarchy says "The Sovereign must be in communion with the Church of England, that is, a full, confirmed member". It makes sense when you consider that the Sovereign is the also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England unless Parliament decides to change that arrangement. You may be thinking of the former prohibition on a prospective heir marrying a Roman Catholic but being free to marry an adherent of any other faith or none. Alansplodge (talk) 13:49, 4 January 2016 (UTC)
 * If you go searching in the reference desk archives, you may be able to find a past question when I asked about Orthodox sovereigns (since they're not Catholic), but was told what you're being told here, although several additional responses allowed the whole thing to have a lot more detail than has arrived here so far. I tried to find this question with the search function but apparently made some sort of mistake.  Nyttend (talk) 14:10, 4 January 2016 (UTC)
 * There is this one from 2009, but you're not there, and I remember a more recent question that I also cannot find... Adam Bishop (talk) 14:17, 4 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Oh, nevermind, here it is, from last April. Adam Bishop (talk) 14:18, 4 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks! Presumably the statement about the monarch needing to be a confirmed member doesn't exactly have legal standing; were the Queen, her eldest son, and her eldest grandson all to die suddenly, the King would be a 2½-year-old boy, way too young to get confirmed, but even if someone threw a fit, I don't imagine him getting dethroned (or put in the Tower with his sibling) just because he's too young to have been confirmed.  Nyttend (talk) 14:37, 4 January 2016 (UTC)
 * If that were to happen, I suppose that there are two possibilities; the appointment of a Prince Regent, or, as was the case the last time this happened in 1547, the appointment of a Council of Regency. In neither case would the monarch assume his full duties until he had come of age. Confirmation is generally undertaken at about 13 years-old in the CofE. Alansplodge (talk) 16:26, 4 January 2016 (UTC)
 * On the communion bit, the exact words of the Act of Settlement are: "... That whosoever shall hereafter come to the Possession of this Crown shall joyn in Communion with the Church of England as by Law established". "Joyn" seems to be prospective, so so long as the heir becomes a member, it should be fine. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 15:28, 4 January 2016 (UTC)
 * For what it's worth, George I and George II were Lutherans before and after they ascended. They never became Anglicans. Surtsicna (talk) 00:02, 6 January 2016 (UTC)
 * What did British law specify at that time? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 06:55, 6 January 2016 (UTC)
 * The law hasn't changed (see above) - the monarch had to be protestant, not Roman Catholic, and "join in communion" with the established Church of England. That the monarch, being the Supreme Governor of this church, might also be Lutheran (or Scots Presbyterian) does not seem to be a problem. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 10:28, 6 January 2016 (UTC)
 * And note that the Coronation of a British monarch has always included a Communion Service in which only the monarch (and his consort) participate, so the Georges must have accepted the Anglican rites and formularies to that extent (the Catholic James II was the only king not to have done this). Note also that the Sovereign has to change their religion to Presbyterian whenever he or she crosses the border into Scotland. Alansplodge (talk) 12:10, 7 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Would Eastern Orthodox Church qualify as Protestant, in the unlikely event that the monarch had come from that background? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:07, 7 January 2016 (UTC)
 * The collective opinion of the RefDesk was "no" according to the previous question on this subject (linked above). Prince Philip of Greece who was Greek Orthodox was confirmed into the Church of England before marrying Princess Elizabeth. Alansplodge (talk) 13:14, 7 January 2016 (UTC)


 * But he didn't have to convert. The rule is that the monarch must be of the appropriate religion, and their spouse must not be a Catholic. That leaves the field very wide open.  Philip could have been a Muslim and it would have made no difference to anything, constitutionally speaking.  That he did convert from Greek Orthodox to Anglican is not germane as to whether Eastern Orthodox would be acceptable for a monarch's own religion.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  22:15, 7 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Quite right. The situation now is that "The Sovereign must be in communion with the Church of England" whatever their previous adherence. Alansplodge (talk) 08:43, 8 January 2016 (UTC)