Posted on 10/25/2006 11:26:14 PM PDT by Eurotwit
Prince Charles wants to be crowned King in a multi-faith coronation service in a dramatic break with tradition, it is claimed.
The Prince is said to have decided that the Christian service in Westminster Abbey must be followed by a separate ceremony involving religious leaders from other faiths.
Held in the ancient Westminster Hall inside the Palace of Westminster, the service would attempt to give room to Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Sikh beliefs as well as other Christian denominations.
Prince Charles believes reforms to the coronation are vital to reflect the changes in British society that have taken place since the Queen was crowned in 1953, according to a report in this week's Spectator magazine.
It also claims he has been appalled by the string of politicians "sounding off" about multiculturalism, in particular the wearing of the veil by Muslim women.
Clarence House refused to comment on the claims.
It has always declined to discuss Prince Charles's coronation plans while the Queen is alive.
However, a senior source told the Daily Mail that the accession plans had been reviewed last year, though he insisted this was "routine."
The prince, who will become Supreme Governor of the Church of England when he becomes king, has already said that he wants to be Defender of Faith - not Defender of the Faith - when he accedes to the throne.
He is close to Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who has called for a multi-faith coronation.
That puts him at odds with Rowan Williams, his successor, and with most Anglican bishops, who oppose such a move.
The crowning of the sovereign has taken place for almost 1,000 years at Westminster Abbey. The new king or queen takes the coronation oath which includes a pledge to maintain the Church of England.
At her coronation in 1953, the Queen swore to uphold "the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel, maintain the Protestant reformed religion established by law and maintain and reserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England."
The Spectator article quotes a courtier as saying the Queen recognises, however, that she has no say over her son's coronation service.
"Her Majesty has carried out her duties to the letter throughout her life and she knows that they extend to the very end of the final act," he says.
"She recognises, however, that she should not exert her influence one second beyond the conclusion of her funeral. The coronation is a matter solely for the PoW."
The report says Prince Charles is keen that his coronation should "bear his imprimatur" and that it should be seen to mark the beginning of a new era and a new kind of reign.
Although his mother permitted television cameras from the BBC into Westminster Abbey to transmit live pictures of her coronation, they were required to withdraw at certain points in the ceremony which she felt to be too sacred.
But Prince Charles is said to believe that such deference is now inappropriate.
He also wants the service truncated into a "less unwieldy' and more 'focused and telecentric" event, according to the report.
He also believes it should acknowledge the religious diversity of the country that he will be ruling.
The report says that following the formal Christian ceremony in the Abbey, the Prince wants here should be a separate interdenominational ceremony in Westminster Hall to reflect his desire to represent the peoples of all religions.
The separate gathering would be unlikely to take place immediately after the formal Christian coronation, but at a later date.
While Labour politicians have attacked the failings of multiculturalism in recent months, the idea of a separate coronation service to meet the requirements of other faiths has recently been mooted by the Evangelical Alliance, which represents a million evangelical Christians in the UK.
"It is no secret that the PoW has long felt passionately about this matter," the courtier added.
"His determination not to yield so much as an inch of this ground has been strengthened a hundredfold by the events of recent weeks."
"It has dismayed him to see the people who will one day be his subjects turn upon each other on the basis of their religious convictions." "As sovereign, he will wish to demonstrate that he is apart from the politicians who have been sounding off so much lately on, among other things, the issue of veils and that he can set an example for the entire country to follow."
What? Not a word about Jedi?
I find his lack of faith disturbing!
If I had a pound for every tabloid story about what Charles is 'said to believe', each one contradicting the last, I'd be pretty rich. I thought Freepers were supposed to be healthily sceptical about uncorroborated stories in the newspapers?
Ok, as a former Brit (and damned glad to be here) I will approve this plan if Chucky does the following:
Gets Camilla's teeth fixed
Makes her promise in writing not to wear a weed in her hair
Renounces his Arabist fantasies, donates his Arab getups to a struggling theater company, and does penance for his assorted sins by spending 6 months lying prostrate on the steps of Canterbury Cathedral in sackcloth and ashes.
Failing that, he should renounce the throne in favor of Wills and move to Abu Dhabi.
As they say, memory is the second thing to go...and I can't recall the first.
;^)
You know. What Orwell called ''goodthink''.
''Defender of the Faith'', in actual fact, might very well require only one capital letter in future, sad to say.
FReegards (and, really, I was just teasing a bit at you...).
We're on the same page on this one, Gunny, ab-so-tively!
Then there is the fact that to technically declare war, Canada has to get the order or approval from the (governor general?)....
Americans are leading the decline of the Anglicans, though the British aren't all that great, either.
The man waited until he was an old man (too indecisive to pick from amongst the most beautiful and rich women on the planet), finally picked a child as his wife as people wonders if he was gay or just a big boob, threw his bride away because she was too immature and he was still in love with a woman he elected not to marry, and otherwise disgraced himself through his personal life.
Now this same indecisiveness rears its head in his religious life. Reports are he dabbles in everything. Catholicism. Orthodoxy. Bhuddism. Etc. He is a man with no rudder and no compass. He is not only lost, but he has no means by which to get back on track.
He personifies the deplorable pop culture of the UK.
"Charles III?? More like Squidgy I, doubtless, if you remember the old mobile-phone headlines in the Sun, et al."
Charles may have said and done some strange things over time, but he can't be blamed for the Squidgy scandal. Diana was Squidgy, not Charles:)
"Despite efforts to suppress the details of their marital attrition, it was not long after the biography became public that British intelligence released to a London tabloid a taped telephone conversation--the so-called "Squidgy" tape--that agents recorded during their surveillance of Diana's close male friend, James Gilbey, in which Gilbey passionately declared his love for Diana, his "Squidgy."
http://www.coopsjokes.com/amz/amzdiana.htm
"The man waited until he was an old man....."
Charles married at 33. Do you really think that makes him an old man?
The Prince is said to have decided that the Christian service in Westminster Abbey must be followed by a separate ceremony involving religious leaders from other faiths ... the service would attempt to give room to Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Sikh beliefs as well as other Christian denominations.
Prince Charles believes reforms to the coronation are vital to reflect the changes in British society that have taken place since the Queen was crowned in 1953. "
For years we have wondered why the Queen never acceded the Crown to her oldest son. I think we now know why. He's a moron and a dupe. He married a fairy princess and embarrassed the nation with his dalliances outside of marriage. And now this.
Here's to hoping that the Queen outlives Charles and that one of his sons is crowned.
Empty suit - empty head - empty soul
33 is very late to start a successful marriage.
By then it is too late to suppress the selfish habits that have been acquired.
Its called "human nature".
If this is incorrect, as per your post, I apologise (but, I will say my impression or memory, whatever, is really pretty strong on this).
And, for the record, I will note the following: any person, dear or unknown, who EVER should call me ''Squidgy'', had damned well better have his or her personal insurance fully paid up to date, or else remain permanently out of my reach.
''Squidgy''?!? Surely no more than one step removed from, for instance, ''Octopussy''. Gaak! If that's some sort of endearment, I should rather have a straight cussing-out.
Great gracious G-d, save us all from Squidgydom, please!
"Great gracious G-d, save us all from Squidgydom, please!"
AMEN to that! LOL!
Hear, hear! Well said!
Won't be the first time that Britain was ruled by an idiot!
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