By the sound of it, one would think Prince George was baptised not into the Church of England but into a lifelong subscription to The Guardian.
Actually, scratch that. Had that been the case, the BBC wouldn’t have mentioned the event in a little footnote. It would have been the first item on the 9 O’Clock News.
Following the christening, the Archbishop of Canterbury was asked if he’d have any objections to the prince eventually becoming a Buddhist.
Not at all, replied His Grace. He’s ‘perfectly entitled’. And so he would be – as a private person. However, as third in line to the throne, he isn’t, and it’s shocking that the head prelate of our established church would give such an ignorant, wishy-washy answer.
I would have been tempted to ask the Archbishop how far he’s prepared to go in his subversive ecumenism. How about George eventually becoming Muslim King, by the Grace of Allah, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas? He could be referred to as the Ayatollah and Supreme Leader George VII, thus ensuring the lasting triumph of multi-culti rectitude.
Or a Satanist perhaps? There are quite a few Satanists in Britain and it’s a shame they aren’t represented in the royal succession. If he converts to this venerable faith when he grows up, Prince George will be able to officiate a Black mass and perhaps sacrifice one of those 40 virgins he could borrow from the Muslims.
On second thoughts, we’ve already had a Druid (i.e. pagan) Archbishop of Canterbury. Why not a Satanist king? No reason at all.
Now it’s useful to remember that such archaic, stick-in-the-mud, not with-it but still valid charters as the 1689 Bill of Rights, the 1701 Act of Settlement and the 1800 Act of the Union are unequivocal on succession. Even someone who is, ever has been, or is married to a Catholic is disbarred.
At the risk of trespassing on His Grace’s theological territory, one may suggest that the distance between Catholicism and Anglicanism is considerably shorter than that between any Christian confession and Buddhism – or any other non-Christian creed.
Is the Most Reverend Justin Welby aware of the constitutional makeup of the realm? Or is he so consumed by the urgent desire to be liked by everyone that he simply doesn’t care about such inconsequential details?
He isn’t the only one. HRH Prince Charles, who – one shudders to think – may become king in our lifetime, keeps insisting that he wants to be known as ‘Defender of Faiths’, not by the traditional (since the sixteenth century) title of ‘Defender of the Faith.’ Jack of all faiths, Supreme Governor of none.
Britain, HRH correctly observes, is multi-culti, and her head of state must reflect in his person the absolute equality of all subjects and therefore of all faiths. Yet equality of everything presupposes belief in nothing. All faiths can be deemed equal only if one regards them as equally irrelevant. And even if HRH feels that way, he’s best-advised to keep such thoughts to himself. His ancestors used to behead people for less.
No wonder Prince Charles dreads becoming our king, a feeling widely shared by many of his future subjects. He describes the throne as a ‘prison’ and claims that he’ll only discharge royal duties ‘joylessly’ as they’ll make him less free to pursue his other interests. In that he’s beginning to sound exceedingly like his ‘I-Want-To-Be-Me’ ex-wife.
Whatever the Prince’s outside interests are, they clearly include neither history nor constitutional law nor theology. He’s so pre-occupied with the environment that he has no time to contemplate how the environment came into being.
Oh, would the next generations of our royals remember that their rights as individuals are superseded by their duty to serve the nation. At times one begins to suspect that they are all republicans at heart.
If that’s the case, then their actions and pronouncements become intelligible – what better way of undermining our constitution than having its living embodiments treat it in such a cavalier fashion.
Her Majesty clearly realises that her power is derived from God – as defined and worshipped by the Christians. Too bad her successors don’t.
Perhaps they should seek guidance from our prelates… No, forget I said that. Let’s just pray that the Queen stays with us for many more years.