The Coronation... how diverse could the May 6th service be?

It’s not who you are – even if you’re the King of England – or who participates; it’s what you do – that’s the red line if the Coronation service is to be legally compliant, a church minister says.

In the weeks leading up to the Coronation, there were reports that King Charles and church leaders disagreed about the participation of other faiths, including Muslims, in the Coronation. The King has reportedly expressed a desire for a diverse ceremony – but the Church of England’s ‘Canon Law’ rules restrict what can take place during a Coronation service.

At the time of writing, the order of service had yet to be published; but according to The Daily Telegraph, the planned service will include different faiths.

Under the Bill of Rights Act 1688 (as amended), Charles III will be required to declare that he is a ‘faithful Protestant’ and will ‘secure the Protestant succession’. Under the Coronation Oath Act 1688 he is required to declare he will maintain the established Anglican Protestant Church.

Chris Kilgour, vicar at Northaw and Cuffley Church, has a special interest in Canon Law and said that as a distinctly Church of England service – which will include Holy Communion – the whole of it must be in keeping with CoE doctrine. He added: ‘Nothing should take place that is indicative of any change, or even suggests any. To do so would be contrary to English law.

‘It would also seem odd that during a service where the monarch promises to maintain the “Protestant Reformed Religion Established by Law” (Coronation Oath Act 1688), it should end up as a service where this was not maintained.

‘The question of participation is not who they are, but what they do. For example, a member of another faith – or none – could probably read from the Bible (although some care would be needed), but not from another religious book, or anything overtly anti-Christian. Any prayers should be Christian prayers, not from another religion or any generic form of pluralism.’

Kilgour said there would be consequences of a departure from CoE doctrine or encouraging such pluralism: ‘Any public support of pluralism by the church is likely to further fracture the Church of England, just at a moment when there should be unity around the Coronation.’

Though the general impact for Christians in the UK may be minimal, it would ‘very likely have an effect in parts of the world where Christians are most persecuted and discriminated against’, he added.