King Charles and Queen Camilla attended a service at St Peter's church in Wolferton on the Sandringham estate, Norfolk, on 25 January 2026, alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally. The event comes amid a heated debate over the monarch's role in religion, triggered by a document suggesting Charles wants to shift from 'defender of the faith' to 'protector of the space for faith within the multifaith nation'.
Accusations of Betrayal
Dr Gavin Ashenden, a former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth, has accused the king of betraying the Church of England, the constitution, and Christians. 'While the monarch cannot technically be a traitor, we might take refuge in grammar and find that the verb carries our feelings even if the noun cannot,' he said. 'Parliament and the oath it presented to the king as a condition of being crowned are betrayed; the Church of England is betrayed. The constitution is betrayed; Anglicans are specifically betrayed. And Christians in general will legitimately feel abandoned at the very least. Some of them too will feel betrayed.'
Ciarán Kelly, director of the Christian Institute, added: 'Christianity, not some multifaith mishmash, is the bedrock of our nation's laws and culture. This latest move seems designed to convey the message that Christianity is just one religion among many, and that all are equally valid. They are not.'
A Long-Standing View
King Charles first expressed his desire to be 'defender of faith' rather than 'defender of the faith' in a 1994 interview with Jonathan Dimbleby. At the time, conservative Christians reacted strongly. The grand secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland fumed: 'There is no place for Charles imposing his woolly religious beliefs or disbeliefs on the United Kingdom.' Even the then-Archbishop of York, John Habgood, warned it could 'cause the British constitution to unravel'.
However, Queen Elizabeth II articulated a similar position in a speech at Lambeth Palace in 2012, stating that the Church of England's role 'is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions', but to 'create an environment for other faith communities and indeed people of no faith to live freely'. This raises questions about whether Ashenden, who served as her chaplain, ever challenged her on the same grounds.
Historical Context
The multifaith approach is rooted in the Protestant Reformation. Before Martin Luther's 95 theses, countries enforced Catholicism exclusively. The Reformation introduced competition between Catholic and Protestant denominations, leading to choices like Germany's decision to let each region's ruler follow their own conscience. The concept of separation of church and state later became enshrined in the US constitution, and Britain has long functioned as a secular state in practice, despite religious coronation services.
Ravi Holy, vicar of Wye in Kent and a standup comedian, argues that King Charles's approach is right and just. 'To extend my soft drink analogy: there are no longer just two colas on the market; we also have Sprite and Fanta, Dr Pepper and Tango (other brands are available) and, of course, there are those who eschew all kinds of fizzy pop – and they should be free to do so,' he wrote. 'So, in the same spirit of generosity and tolerance that the Germans displayed in the 16th century, we need to create a society in which people of all faiths and none can live together in the 21st century. This, it seems to me, is precisely what the king, like the queen before him, is attempting to do. So, as far as I'm concerned, he's no traitor, he's 100% faithful. It's the critics I worry about.'
The debate continues, with some seeing the king's stance as a betrayal of Christian heritage, while others view it as a necessary evolution for a modern, diverse society.
