Abstract

This study examines the position of the King of the United Kingdom as «Defender of the Faith» and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, with particular reference to the King’s published remarks on his religious duties and the inter-faith elements present at his Coronation. It sets the established Church of England and the King’s role within that Church in their historical and contemporary sociological context. Building on published interviews and speeches made by Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III, this study explores how the establishment of the Church supports freedom of religion in the multi-faith British society of the present day. It suggests how those who wish to defend the ongoing importance of church establishment might frame their arguments in a twenty first century context