The Queen's Churchgoing Habits

[Denville]

In many ways, I think that HM is the last of her kind; and this includes her overt Christianity. Although, I was encouraged by Kate and William's own prayer being included in their marriage ceremony.

I think that Charles is an "overt Christian" too and certainly though he might not talk about it, has a faith.. but he's intellectualy curious enough to be interested in other religions.

 

[Osipi]

I would even go further and say that not only is Charles religious when it comes to practicing his faith, he's also a very spirituality minded person. One thing he's stated a few times is that there is a lack of focus these days on a person's soul and bringing it into harmony with the world around one.

 

[Iain]

Pity that the historic Abbey church was left a ruin and never restored to its former glory.

I believe there was a plan many years ago to restore it but for some reason it didn't happen. The other royal palace in Edinburgh, the one in the castle, doesn't have a chapel either although it did have an oratory during the time of the Stuart Kings. The royal palace in Falkland has a chapel but as the Queen is a Presbyterian in Scotland she wouldn't be worshipping there as it's a Catholic chapel where Mass is celebrated every Sunday.

 

[Iain]

Is it too late?

Probably not but the bodies that are buried within the walls would have to be exhumed and reburied somewhere else.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Probably not but the bodies that are buried within the walls would have to be exhumed and reburied somewhere else.

Actually the royal remains are still buried in the royal vault,the tombs however were lost.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Holyrood_Abbey_(geograph_3576681).jpg

 

[Skippyboo]

Yes. The Church of England remained more closely aligned to Roman Catholicism than either the Lutheran or Calvinistic churches.

Henry and Elizabeth broke with Rome but the liturgy and practices were definitely more attuned to the old church then the newer ones developing elsewhere.

Private chapels don't mean an individual either - private simply means limited in the number of people who can attend e.g. the private chapels in the palaces would be available for the people in the palaces to attend.

All the royal palaces have private chapels where the royal family and their loyal retainers can go but not the ordinary members of the public.

If you think about it this is also a security measure.

Buckingham Palace doesn't have a chapel anymore. It got bombed during WWII. They built the Queen's Gallery where the private chapel stood.

 

[Iain]

Actually the royal remains are still buried in the royal vault,the tombs however were lost.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Holyrood_Abbey_(geograph_3576681).jpg

Yes that's correct but what I meant was the other people buried within the ruins. You actually walk over their graves as you move around.

 

[duchessrachel]

Princess Anne church going habits

I am not sure where to put this in the forum for Princess Anne, so I will put it here and will mods move it to the correct place? What are Princess Anne's church going habits?

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Does Queen Elizabeth II have a specific pew in each church she attends?

 

[MARG]

I would imagine so, for security if no other reason, being in the front allows for a fast exit.

 

[Curryong]

I am not sure where to put this in the forum for Princess Anne, so I will put it here and will mods move it to the correct place? What are Princess Anne's church going habits?

I don't think anybody knows, as few photojournalists would be hanging round Gatcombe on Sundays checking on whether Anne is attending church services or not. We really only see her when she goes with her mother to Craigie on visits to Balmoral.

She (and Charles), got used to going to Church regularly in childhood with both their mother and grandmother regular attendees. Anne also had an official role (High Commissioner) in the Church of Scotland for a year or two, so my guess would be, and it's only a guess, that Anne probably goes to church on a less regular basis than her mother but attends more services during the year than the younger generation of royals.

 

[Iluvbertie]

All of the Queen's children have held that High Commissioner in the Church of Scotland for two years since 2000. It involves a week or so of activities in Scotland while the sessions are on, including opening the meeting and hosting dinners etc.

Anne held it in 1996, Charles in 2000, Andrew in 2007, Edward in 2014 and Anne again in 2017

The Queen herself has held the position twice - 1969 and 2002.

I don't think holding this office can be a sign of church attendance.

 

[Somebody]

I am not sure where to put this in the forum for Princess Anne, so I will put it here and will mods move it to the correct place? What are Princess Anne's church going habits?

Quoting Claire's post from 2008 (see 2nd page of this topic):

It was Mark Philips who said that Anne sees religious observation as a waste of time.

So, it seems it is mostly another duty for her if she decides or has to attend.

Of the queen's 4 children Edward is seen as the most active church go-er, Charles comes next and both Anne and Andrew are not considered that religious and active church go-ers other thsn whdn expected of them because of royal duty or tradition followed by many Anglicans who are members but only attend for special occassions.

 

[Denville]

Why would Mark PHilips say this? It seems an odd kind of thing to say, unless he was trying to be critical of her....

 

[Somebody]

I have no idea about the context (could be a private conversation) but motives can of course be questioned. Nonetheless, it would be unlikely for him to say so if attending church was a high priority for his former wife.

 

[Denville]

I would have said it was an odd thing to say.. and I'd like to see what the proof was that he said it....

 

[tommy100]

Anne and Mark seem to have a cordial enough relationship post divorce for him not to have said it if he thought it would have causedAnne upset in anyway to say such a thing (if indeed he said it at all). So I would conclude that Anne is not to fussed about attending church apart from for her duties and significant personal occasions. Also rememember she happily went off to scotland to remarry as the Church of England frowned upon it.

 

[Denville]

Still it comes across as a critical remark. Even if the RF are not all vry religious I don't think any of them have ever said anyting to indicate publicly that they think religious observance is a waste of time..
I don't know that she "happily went off" to Scotalnd.. She did not have much choice, as at the time, it was not considered legal for the RF to marry in a registery office.. and the C of E generally did not permit remarriage in church for divorced people. So she had to go to the C of S....

 

[Somebody]

I would have said it was an odd thing to say.. and I'd like to see what the proof was that he said it....

Ask Claire if she still is active at TRF. She did indicate where she found other information about church going habits. Her full assessment is on the first psge of this thread.

Still it comes across as a critical remark. Even if the RF are not all vry religious I don't think any of them have ever said anyting to indicate publicly that they think religious observance is a waste of time..
I don't know that she "happily went off" to Scotalnd.. She did not have much choice, as at the time, it was not considered legal for the RF to marry in a registery office.. and the C of E generally did not permit remarriage in church for divorced people. So she had to go to the C of S....

Well of course they wouldn't say so in public or do a press release that Anne (and Andrew) cannot be bother but only show up when truly expected but that doesn't mean that couldn't be true or be discussed among friends (and reach the outer world). I don't see much evidence that would contrast this inside view. It's not that she is seen attending church regularly like her mother and oldest and youngest sibling.

 

[Denville]

Still if Mark did say it, he might have considered that it MIGHT get out in public, and didn't sound very good....

 

[MARG]

I believe that in all fairness we must have verifiable proof as to the state of anyone's faith. Proof that they do or do not have a relationship with God and practise their faith.

In the case of royalty that is a little hard to do as so many residences have their own chapels and even more Royal Chaplains.

 

[Dman]

It’s pretty normal to go to church on Sunday and be active in church activities, but I think the royals church activities are pretty extensive. They do have their own chapels, chaplains and they attend church services for pretty much everything.

 

[Denville]

It’s pretty normal to go to church on Sunday and be active in church activities, but I think the royals church activities are pretty extensive. They do have their own chapels, chaplains and they attend church services for pretty much everything.

It isn't normal in the UK... I think the queen is a very devout Christian.. and a regular churchgoer. I don't know if other members of the family "attend church services for everything."

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

According to a January 2018 poll, 41.5% of the UK classed themselves as not belonging to any religion, whilst 50.7% classed themselves as Christian. The BRF still follow a lot of old traditions, and I've read a few times that HM is quite a practicing Christian like many elderly people here in England. A lot of the elderly people at my church attend more out of habit as when they were young it was almost second nature for most people to go to church on Sunday.
I come from quite a conservative London suburb so a lot of people here practice a form of organised religion, but there are also an equal amount of people who are atheists or who don't practice a religion. We do have a summer festival led by one of the local churches that does have somewhat of a religious emphasis, but it's also attended by non-religious or non-Christian members of the local community.
Religion is certainly nowhere near as central in British life as it was in the first half of the last century and HM's churchgoing habits don't really match for most of the population.

 

[Somebody]

Apparently Church of England weekly attendance is less than 2% of the population; monthly attendance is down to about 2%, so the queen is the exception and most of her family members are most likely more like the average Anglican; attending at spevial occassions (although the BRF might have more special occassions).

 

[Dman]

It isn't normal in the UK... I think the queen is a very devout Christian.. and a regular churchgoer. I don't know if other members of the family "attend church services for everything."

The whole family was just at a church service for the RAF Centenary. Prince Louis’s Christening just took place. The Garter, Thistle, St. Michael and St. George church services was attended by the Royals. Let some not forget about the royal wedding and Commonwealth services. Practically everything the royals do involve church.

 

[Osipi]

I'm going to throw my two gummy bears worth into the mix here. Practicing a religion and attending services is something we can physically see about people but to me, that doesn't mean a heck of a lot. There are millions of people that do not go near a church at all but have a deep, spiritual relationship with their Creator. Its something totally personal and its no one else's business.

Just like we do not and cannot see into the royal's private lives, their private relationship with their Creator and how they choose to exhibit that relationship in their lives is their own.

 

[Mbruno]

The whole family was just at a church service for the RAF Centenary. Prince Louis’s Christening just took place. The Garter, Thistle, St. Michael and St. George church services was attended by the Royals. Let some not forget about the royal wedding and Commonwealth services. Practically everything the royals do involve church.

Since the CoE is the established state church in England, it is natural that the Royal Family should regularly attend CoE services associated with official public celebrations (like the RAF Centenary or Commonwealth Remembrance days). What is being discussed in this forum, however, is whether royals attend regular church services as private citizens and not in connection with any official function. I think the overall impression is that the Queen does, but that is not necessarily true for other family members , whose private church attendance seems to be limited to the usual pattern of weddings, christenings, funerals, and "high holidays" like Christmas and Easter. BTW, that is typical of many families in northern Europe today.

 

[Dman]

Since the CoE is the established state church in England, it is natural that the Royal Family should regularly attend CoE services associated with official public celebrations (like the RAF Centenary or Commonwealth Remembrance days). What is being discussed in this forum, however, is whether royals attend regular church services as private citizens and not in connection with any official function. I think the overall impression is that the Queen does, but that is not necessarily true for other family members , whose private church attendance seems to be limited to the usual pattern of weddings, christenings, funerals, and "high holidays" like Christmas and Easter. BTW, that is typical of many families in northern Europe today.

Yeah, I understand that. Just saying that the royals attend church more often than most people. Every time one blink they’re at a church service for something. They do the same routine every year. They have church services oozing out of their ears.

It’s all worship at the end of the day.

 

[Curryong]

If Mark was overheard saying this in private conversation in a jokey kind of tone it's more understandable IMO than just throwing it into an interview in answer to a question about his wife's views on her duties for example.

I'm not so sure that the Cambridges, Sussexes or the York princesses go to church each Sunday on their own private time, and that may well include Anne and Andrew. Would anyone know, though? About the only time royals are seen going into church when they are off duty is when cameras are around.

Friends of friends in England served on the same base as Harry when he was in the Army/air services, and they said he would sometimes slip away go to the Chapel on the base for some private time or for a service without telling anyone. That info escaped onto Twitter but wasn't generally known. Did Camilla attend church regularly before she married Charles? Did Sophie or Diana? Unless fellow parishioners saw them there each Sunday, who can say!