King Charles might not run the monarchy quite like his mother, Queen Elizabeth, but one thing he shares with the late Queen is a deep devotion to the Church of England. But while The King speaks openly about his faith, Prince William has never claimed to be interested in religion. Ahead of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, being installed this week, a palace source has said that the Prince of Wales wants to make sure his commitment to the Anglican church “is cleared up.”
“This week is an opportunity to be very clear in people’s minds, when he walks into Canterbury Cathedral, of where he stands,” a Kensington Palace insider told the Times. Although Prince William doesn't attend church every Sunday, he's said to want the public to know that he's dedicated to his future role as head of the church.
“For him, it is a drawing of a line in the sand of where he’s at and it’s really important that it [the question over his commitment to the Church] is cleared up,” the source said, adding, “The Prince of Wales’s commitment to the Church of England is sometimes quieter than people expect, and for that reason it is not always fully understood.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales attend church with the Royal Family on occasions like Easter and Christmas, and they've been seen heading to services at Balmoral and on the Sandringham estate when they're staying with the Royal Family. Outside of that, William hasn't been known to be a churchgoer, but according to the recent book The Windsor Legacy, Princess Kate's 2024 cancer diagnosis has changed that.
“As the year progressed, both he and Catherine became more religious,” Robert Jobson wrote in the book. “Never known as a regular worshipper, William now attends church more frequently than in the past, though as privately as possible.”
Royal biographer Robert Hardman also noted Kate becoming more connected to her spiritual side because of her health struggles in Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story. The author wrote that Princess Kate “is said to have become rather more interested in questions of faith as a result of her condition.”
As for the future King, a source told the Times that William is “very seriously” focusing on becoming the head of the Anglican church. “His feeling is, ‘I might not be at church every day but I believe in it, I want to support it and this is an important aspect of my role and the next role and I will take it very seriously, in my own way’,” the insider said.
