According to the late Queen’s chaplain Gavin Ashenden, King Charles III threatens to destroy the British monarchy with his ‘multi-faith’ beliefs.
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King Charles’s first Christmas speech
In his first Christmas speech, King Charles paid tribute to his beloved mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. Charles expressed that, like his mother, he too has immense faith in ‘people’, in each person’s ‘goodness and compassion’, and ability to make a change, no matter how small it may seem.
The King paid tribute to all the individuals who dedicate their time and effort to help make a difference in these particularly trying times.
Charles also celebrated people of all faiths and their places of worship for showing unity in times of crisis. The King said:
Our churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and gurdwaras have once again united in feeding the hungry, providing love and support throughout the year. Such heartfelt solidarity is the most inspiring expression of loving our neighbour as ourself.
Sowing ‘sowed the seeds of the destruction’
However, not everyone was convinced by the King’s multicultural and multi-faith approach. Gavin Ashenden, the late Queen’s former Chaplain, has warned Charles that his address could well mark the end of the monarchy.
In his speech, the King said:
The power of light overcoming darkness is celebrated across different beliefs.
Indeed, King Charles already mentioned in 1994 that he would like to be known as ‘Defender of Faith’ and not ‘Defender of the Faith’ when he became King. It caused a significant amount of controversy at the time. In 2015, the then-Prince Charles clarified that he wanted to ‘protect the free practice of all faiths in this country’.
Ashenden fears that if the King shifts into a ‘21st-century religious relativism’, His Majesty will have abandoned his faith, according to an article written by him in the Catholic Herald.
The Chaplain believes the British public is witnessing a ‘gradual shift from being a Christian monarchy to a multifaith one’. But according to him, the monarchy will not survive such a shift.
Talking to GB News, the chaplain said:
I think that if this slow movement into multiculturalism and multifaith goes on, we'll lose the monarchy, because in the end, I don't think it will be true to itself.
For him, the monarchy is a Christian concept, with many of its traditions and ceremonies seeped in Christian symbolism.
Ashenden ends his article by claiming:
In abandoning the Faith that conceived, defined and sustained the concept of monarchy, King Charles may just have sown the seeds of the destruction of the House of Windsor.
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Sources used:
- Fox News: Queen's former chaplain warns 'multicultural, multifaith' King Charles III threatens British monarchy
- The Guardian: King Charles’s Christmas message – text in full
- The Guardian: King Charles to be Defender of the Faith but also a defender of faiths
- Catholic Herald: The Christmas speech that defines the King as a ‘defender of faiths’