They want him to stop the "violent attack" on the Treaty presented by the ACT Party's Treaty Principals Bill.

Urgent hearing

Iwi chairperson Professor Makere Mutu presented evidence at an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing into the Bill.

She and other expert witnesses presented their concerns about the ACT Party's interpretation of the Treaty Articles in its Democracy or Co-Government Policy Paper.

ACT's translation is "nonsensical" Mutu said.

"Which tells me either that the person has absolutely no understanding of the reo at all or is so disparaging of the reo that they think nothing of doing ... gratuitous violence to our language ...".

Tribunal agrees

Tribunal panel member Monty Soutar agrees.

It is "just not possible to draw that English translation from the Maori that's there" he said.

Te reo Maori expert and Ngapuhi historian Hone Sadler also agrees.

"This cutting and pasting exercise ... demeans, debases and trivialises our founding document as a nation and disparages and denigrates Ngapuhi, the guardian of these sacred covenants" he told the Tribunal.

ACT's idea

Seymour reject's Sadler's view.

People say the Treaty "requires us to be divided by a partnership between races, rather than a compact that gives us the same rights, duties and then gives us - all of us - the right to self-determine" he says.

ACT says the Treaty redefined:

• Article 1: "Kawanatanga katoa o o ratou whenua" - the NZ Government has the right to govern all New Zealanders

• Article 2: "Ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani te tino rangatiratanga o o ratou whenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa" - the NZ government will honour all New Zealanders in the chieftainship of their land and all their property

• Article 3: "A ratou nga tikanga katoa rite tahi" - all New Zealanders are equal under the law with the same rights and duties.

Disgracing the Crown

Mutu told the Tribunal the government is disgracing the Crown with its actions.

The late Queen knew how to exercise her own rule of law in this country that upheld the mana and the tino rangatiratanga of our people, she said.

"We still look to King Charles ... to stop the lawless behaviour of the Pakehas. And that's all we're dealing with here ...."

She said ACT's plans could change the Treaty so iwi might be unable to pursue their historical claims.

Source

• ODT

Buckingham Palace announced this on Monday evening. The associated service will occur in Worcester Cathedral in the west of England.

Charles has continued this tradition of his mother, Elizabeth II, who died in 2022.

Selected people, all of whom are of retirement age and chosen by their diocese, receive the "Maundy Thursday money" from the monarch as a sign of recognition for their service to the church and the community.

The "Maundy money" is similar to the Catholic custom of the Pope or Catholic priests washing people's feet on Maundy Thursday in remembrance of the Last Supper.

Maundy Thursday falls on March 28th this year.

Read More

"I am saddened to learn that King Charles is now facing a time of treatment for cancer. On behalf of the entire Catholic Community in England and Wales, I offer His Majesty our warmest wishes and assurance of steadfast prayers for his full and speedy recovery. God bless the King," Nichols, who heads the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said in a Feb. 5 X post.

King Charles, 75, underwent treatment recently for an enlarged prostate, and an unspecified cancer was discovered during that treatment, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.

Read More

The Canadian Royal Crown redesign was recommended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and is based on the bejewelled St Edward's Crown used at King Charles' coronation, as well as the slightly different Tudor Crown symbol.

However, the stylized Canadian emblem drops the crosses and the fleurs-de-lis present on these crowns, instead incorporating "elements emphasising the Canadian identity of the monarchy," the governor general of Canada's website says in its heraldry section.

Read More

The coronation has attracted controversy—not least over its $125 million price tag during a cost-of-living crisis—even as opinion polls show dwindling public interest in the monarchy.

But despite controversies, it will still be an opportunity to project the soft-power of British royal pageantry and reaffirm Christianity's place in public affairs, including the presence of Britain's small but significant Catholic minority.

"Being anti-Catholic has been an element of British identity for centuries," Father Timothy Radcliffe, former master of the Dominicans and one of Britain's best-known Catholic preachers, told OSV News.

"I'd hope an event like this will help our church become yet more integrated into national life at a time when, like most countries, we face threats of disintegration, increasing inequality and a declining sense of the common good."

King Charles inherits the duties and prerogatives of head of state in an unbroken line of monarchs dating back to the 10th century. He also assumes the role of supreme governor of the Church of England, along with the traditional title of "fidei defensor," or "defender of the faith," bestowed in 1521 by Pope Leo X on King Henry VIII.

And while he's long declared his wish, in a modern multicultural society, to be defender of all faiths, not just one, King Charles III reaffirmed his Protestant identity in speeches after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022—and will reaffirm it again during the coronation service.

This has caused some disappointment, not least among Britain's Catholics.

The Catholic Church will be represented at the abbey by Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, who will share a blessing with Protestant and Orthodox leaders.

Catholic bishops from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland also will join the congregation, along with the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the newly appointed apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, Spanish Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía.

But Catholic prelates were not included among 50 public figures assigned formal roles in the order of service, published April 28. This will include a Bible reading by Britain Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a practising Hindu, and the presentation of regalia by Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and Hindu leaders.

Susan Doran, an Oxford University monarchy historian, said she regretted the bulk of the ceremony will be exclusively Protestant, with Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and other Anglican prelates playing a dominant role.

"With its plummeting membership and many problems, it's not surprising the Church of England seeks to hold on to its link with the monarchy, and sees the coronation as an opportunity to proclaim this," Doran told OSV News.

"But at a time when the monarchy seems to be losing meaning for many people, I think it will fuel further alienation if they go too far down a narrow Protestant route—particularly among the young and people of other faiths," she added.

That could be the reaction of some Catholics, too, especially those conscious of how bitter past conflicts have defined modern Britain's religious outlook.

Relations with Rome, dating from the first mission to Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the sixth century, were broken off under Henry VIII in 1536 during the Reformation conflicts.

After a brief restoration under Henry's Catholic daughter, Mary I, hostility reared again under the Protestant Elizabeth I, who was declared excommunicated and deposed as a "servant of wickedness" in 1570 by Pope Pius V.

Persecution of Catholics intensified under Elizabeth's successor, James I, particularly after the infamous 1605 Gunpowder Plot to blow up the king and his parliament.

Some historians now dispute whether such a plot really existed. But it sealed the fate of English Catholics for the next 250 years as perceived heretics and traitors.

Even in the late 19th century, the Catholic Church was treated as an alien element in national life, deprived of equal rights. Although a church hierarchy was reestablished in 1850, it took until 1871 for Catholic academics even to be admitted to Oxford and Cambridge universities, and until St. John Paul II's historic 1982 visit for formal diplomatic ties to be established.

Since then, the Catholic Church's profile has been rebuilt, bringing it closer to full acceptance as a British institution.

Recent statistics show that Catholics make up around 13% of the United Kingdom's 67 million inhabitants, with Anglicans at 14%, although religious affiliations have declined sharply across the country, with only around half of citizens declaring themselves Christian in recent surveys, compared to more than 70% two decades ago.

Although King Charles's consort, Queen Camilla, was baptized a Protestant, she was married by a Catholic priest in 1973 to her Catholic first husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles, and brought up her son and daughter as Catholics.

Technical formalities aside, Charles has shown personal openness to Catholics, postponing his own wedding to Camilla in 2005 to attend St. John Paul's funeral.

Before his fourth Vatican visit in October 2019 for the canonisation of St John Henry Newman, Charles published an article in L'Osservatore Romano and The Times of London hailing the event as a celebration "not merely for Catholics, but for all who cherish the values by which he was inspired."

Heading a 12-member Catholic delegation to pledge allegiance to the new king March 9, Cardinal Nichols duly paid tribute to Charles's "commitment to religious faith" and assured him of Catholic support.

On April 19, the pope himself reciprocated, donating two splinters from the Cross of Christ, preserved among relics in the Vatican Museums, for incorporation into a new Cross of Wales, which will lead the king's coronation procession.

The king will be crowned as he sits on a 700-year-old chair with the solid-gold St. Edward's Crown, made for Charles II in 1661. He will be presented with the orb and sceptre pictured last autumn sitting atop the late queen's coffin.

Holy oil for anointing the monarch and Camilla was consecrated March 4 at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem.

Cardinal Nichols and other British Catholic bishops urged Catholics to take a full part in coronation events, including special weekend Masses and a May 3-5 triduum of prayer, as well as a nationwide day of volunteering and charity work set for May 8. Continue reading

In another first since the Reformation, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, will bless the new monarch at the end of the ceremony.

The service is said to reflect contemporary society and will also feature leaders from Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities.

Along with Cardinal Nichols, The Catholic Church will be represented by bishops from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is representing Pope Francis.

The newly appointed apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, Spanish Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, will also attend.

"The service contains new elements that reflect the diversity of our contemporary society," said Archbishop Justin Welby, spiritual leader of the Church of England.

"It is my prayer that all who share in this service, whether they are of faith or no faith, will find ancient wisdom and new hope that brings inspiration and joy."

The ceremony will also include female bishops for the first time; hymns and prayers will be sung and spoken in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic, and English.

Public invited to say oath

For the first time in history, public participation will be a part of the ceremony, with members of the public invited to say the oath to the King out loud.

The Archbishop of Canterbury will ask those in attendance to swear allegiance to the monarch. There will be a fanfare before the Most Reverend Justin Welby leads the crowd in saying, "God Save The King," with attendees responding, "God Save King Charles. Long Live King Charles. May The King live forever."

Cardinal Nichols said: "I think it is a very remarkable moment, it is obviously something quite new."

He told Sky News "the important thing to remember" was that the new Homage of the People, which will replace the traditional Homage of Peers, was "an invitation, it is not a command."

Nichols added: "If that is what you want to do, here is your moment to express your sense of loyalty and your sense of support, and maybe prayer, for the King.

"He [the Archbishop of Canterbury] has offered a formula of words, but I take that as an offering as well.

"It is a lovely invitation, and I hope people will take it up in their own way to express what hopefully is in their hearts, that they wish King Charles God's blessing and they wish him well in his spirit of service which he brings to this coronation."

After the coronation ceremony, a joint greeting from other religions will also be read. According to the programme representatives of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism will greet Charles III as "neighbours in faith."

Sources

The Tablet

AP News

America Magazine

Sky News

The cross, named the Cross of Wales, contains two shards of the True Cross, which is said to have been used in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The Royal Palace made the announcement on Tuesday, NZ time.

The small fragments have been incorporated into the larger silver crucifix behind a rose crystal gemstone so they can be viewed only up close. One shard is 1cm in size and the other is 5mm.

Crafted from recycled silver bullion provided by the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales, the Cross of Wales includes a shaft of Welsh windfall timber and Welsh slate.

Words from the last sermon of St David are inscribed on the back of the cross in Welsh, which read: 'Byddwch lawen. Cadwch y ffydd. Gwnewch y Pethau Bychain', translated as: 'Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things'.

The Cross of Wales is a gift from the King to the Church in Wales to celebrate its centenary. It will be blessed by the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, in a service at Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno, North Wales, today before it heads to London.

Upon its return from the coronation procession, the cross will be shared between Wales's Anglican and Catholic churches.

The silver elements bear a full hallmark, including the Royal Mark - a leopard's head - which was applied by the King himself in November last year when visiting The Goldsmiths' Centre in London.

"We are honoured that His Majesty has chosen to mark our centenary with a cross that is both beautiful and symbolic," said Archbishop Andrew.

"Its design speaks to our Christian faith, our heritage, our resources and our commitment to sustainability. We are delighted too that its first use will be to guide Their Majesties into Westminster Abbey at the coronation service."

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff and Bishop of Menevia, Mark O'Toole, said: "With a sense of deep joy, we embrace this cross, kindly given by King Charles, and containing a relic of the True Cross, generously gifted by the Holy See. It is not only a sign of the deep Christian roots of our nation but will, I am sure, encourage us all to model our lives on the love given by our Saviour, Jesus Christ."

Well ahead of the coronation, King Charles met a Catholic delegation at Buckingham Palace.

As king, Charles is the supreme governor of the Church of England.

Speaking for the 12-member delegation, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster pledged his church's allegiance to the new king.

"For so many years, we have observed your desire and unstinting efforts to explore and enhance the well-being of the entire human family, through your commitment to religious faith, protection of the environment and relief of poverty," Nichols said.

"The Catholic community is profoundly supportive of these fundamental concerns, as we strive to offer our society, your kingdom, an education for young people that is rooted in faith and its consequent commitment to human dignity."

Source

• Daily Mail
• CathNews NZ

As king, Charles is the supreme governor of the Church of England.

Speaking for the 12-member delegation, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster pledged his church's allegiance to the new king.

"For so many years, we have observed your desire and unstinting efforts to explore and enhance the well-being of the entire human family, through your commitment to religious faith, protection of the environment and relief of poverty," Nichols said.

"The Catholic community is profoundly supportive of these fundamental concerns, as we strive to offer our society, your kingdom, an education for young people that is rooted in faith and its consequent commitment to human dignity."

The March 9 ceremony also heard similar pledges made by representatives of numerous other Christian denominations and religious and academic communities.

Nichols said British Catholics remembered the "remarkable and unique role" played by the king's late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and would give "support and prayers" to Charles III, while also appreciating his "steadfast opposition to religious persecution".

Charles paid tribute to the contribution of churches and other associations to the UK's "national fabric" and to advancing mutual knowledge and understanding.

"You underpin the very foundations on which our country is built and help construct a framework of excellence and achievement within which our civil society functions and our national narrative can be formed," Charles said.

Britain's Catholic community held "together in a common faith" people from "different nationalities, languages, cultures and customs," Nichols said.

The Catholic faith required "a particular concern" toward those "fleeing violence and poverty" and "trapped in human trafficking and modern slavery".

Catholics share the monarch's view that society could thrive only "through a clear collective commitment to vital principles of freedom of conscience, generosity of spirit and care for others".

Catholic coronation heritage

As yet details of a Catholic role in the upcoming coronation haven't been announced.

The Protestant service will be held, as it has for nine centuries, in Westminster Abbey.

It will be organised, according to tradition, by the Duke of Norfolk, Edward Fitzalan-Howard — Britain's highest-ranking noble and most senior lay Catholic.

The ceremony will feature a Gospel choir and Greek Orthodox music in memory of the King's Greek-born father, Prince Philip, and the Latin Veni Creator Spiritus used at episcopal consecrations.

Buckingham Palace sources says the religious ceremony will be representative of different faiths and community groups, in line with the king's wishes. They also say the traditional coronation oath to preserve the "rights and privileges" of Protestant bishops and clergy was likely to be modified.

Joseph Shaw, chairman of England's Latin Mass Society, says the royal coronation ceremony, dating back a thousand years, remains "powerfully and profoundly Catholic" in design.

"The idea of monarchy remains consonant with Catholic conceptions for the ordering of society under God. Whatever the personal limitations of particular monarchs, monarchy is something Catholics should cherish for what it represents."

As Prince of Wales, Charles pledged to uphold his church's role in "protecting the free practice of all religious faiths".

Source

• Our Sunday Visitor

The oil was pressed from olives harvested on the Mount of Olives, and has been perfumed with sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin, amber oil and orange blossoms.

The ceremony was conducted by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, and the Most Rev Hosam Naoum, the Anglican archbishop in Jerusalem.

The ritual was held at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion and burial.

Reflecting modern animal-friendly sensitivities, the oil used to anoint the King will not include any ingredients from animals. Previous versions have included civet oil and ambergris from the intestines of whales.

The anointing of the King has echoes of a christening or the ordination into religious orders, with the monarch being symbolically touched with holy oil on the head, chest and hands.

However, this was considered such a sacred moment that television cameras were prohibited from filming it in 1953.

There has been speculation about whether the anointing will be shown on TV during the coronation of King Charles III.

Deep historic links

The oil has a royal family significance, partly using olives grown on the Mount of Olives at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene, where the King's grandmother, Princess Alice, is buried.

In his Christmas message, the King spoke of his own Christian faith and how much he had been moved when he visited biblical sites, such as Jesus' birthplace in Bethlehem.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, welcomed the use of oil from the Mount of Olives, a site outside Jerusalem with many biblical connections.

"This demonstrates the deep historic link between the coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land," said the archbishop. "From ancient kings through to the present day, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this sacred place."

The implements used for the anointing, including a spoon, are rare survivors of the original medieval coronation regalia, most of which were destroyed on the orders of Oliver Cromwell in 1649.

Charles will be formally crowned on 6 May at Westminster Abbey in London during a ceremony combining elements of tradition with modern touches that highlight the changing face of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

Sources

AP News

BBC

The new monarch, who immediately acceded to the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8 and will be crowned May 6 in Westminster Abbey, has long had close ties with the Catholic Church.

As heir to the throne, he spent many years supporting Catholic charities, as well as often speaking out on behalf of persecuted Christians, including working with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.

He welcomed Pope St John Paul II on his historic visit to Canterbury in 1982 and has made many trips to the Vatican, including meeting in a private audience with John Paul II in 1985 and attending his funeral in 2005, meeting Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, and visiting Pope Francis in 2017.

In 2019, he represented the queen at the Rome canonization of St John Henry Newman and penned a commentary for L'Osservatore Romano in which he praised how, through his Catholic faith, Cardinal Newman had contributed so much to the Catholic Church and his homeland.

"I know of nothing which would lead me to think that he isn't strongly supportive of the faith and devotional life of his Catholic subjects and of Pope Francis," said Anglican Archbishop Ian Ernest, director of the Anglican Centre in Rome.

How does King Charles understand the Catholic faith?

Does Charles recognize the differences between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, and how might he influence relations in the future?

"He will certainly be aware that the Roman Catholic Church teaches transubstantiation and that the Church of England does not," said Gavin Ashenden, a former Anglican bishop and chaplain to the queen who was received into the Catholic Church in 2019.

"He is probably aware that the Church of England only recognizes two sacraments against historic Christianity's seven."

Adrian Hilton, the editor of the popular Anglican website ArchbishopCranmer.com, also believes Charles is aware of the denominational differences and recalled how, during his visit to John Paul II in 1985 with his then-wife Princess Diana, he had wished to attend Mass with the Pope, upon which the queen intervened.

But to Hilton, this suggests "that he sees the Church as one and rather laments divisions within."

"He is clearly aware of sacramental differences and interecclesiastical tensions but doesn't view them as primary issues of salvation," he said.

"That he gifted the Pope [in 1985] a copy of Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People also suggests that he views the Church of England as an expression of Catholic continuity."

Does he relate to Jesus as Lord?

But asked if Charles sees the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as equals in the service of the same Lord, Ashenden said he sees "no evidence in Charles' public language that he relates to Jesus as Lord" and noted that he "has chafed at the exclusiveness of Christianity and only recently committed himself to Anglicanism."

Ashenden could not testify to Charles having any special interest in the Catholic Church per se; rather, he believes Charles has gravitated toward "spirituality, both Islamic and that of Greek Orthodoxy," but added that this appears to be no more "than observer status" and that Charles' affection for Orthodoxy is more diplomatic than personal.

Asked if Charles was perhaps closer to the Greek Orthodox Church, similar to his father, the late Duke of Edinburgh, who was a member of the Greek royal family, Hilton said: "This is difficult, not least because he has manifestly changed his mind on some theological issues over the years — as I guess we all do — so his thinking on Eastern Orthodox Christianity 20 years ago may not be what it is today."

Still, Hilton said he senses Charles has inherited a "deep respect for Orthodoxy and also the cosmology of Universalism," and Mount Athos, which Charles has visited several times, "represents to him a cultural history, spiritual unity and interfaith harmony which supersedes the divisions within and between Jerusalem, Rome and Canterbury."

The new king is reportedly a more high-church Anglican than his mother and predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II. Might that perhaps make him closer to the Catholic Church? Continue reading

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster's inclusion was the first time for hundreds of years a Catholic cardinal or bishop has had a role in a royal funeral.

Nichols is the president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

He was one of a number of non-Anglican Christian leaders asked to lead the congregation in prayers during the state funeral last week.

In his prayer, Nichols expressed thanks for the monarch's "commitment to the Commonwealth throughout her reign". He prayed for a "spirit of mutual honour and respect" and for figures in authority to "promote justice and the common good".

At the funeral, Archbishop Leo Cushley represented the Catholics of Scotland and Archbishop Mark O'Toole represented Catholics in Wales.

The Vatican's Liverpool-born foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, represented Pope Francis.

Since the 18th century, all British monarchs have been obliged, under oath, to be Anglicans. They vow to discharge the office of the supreme governor of the Church of England.

Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, were interested in ecumenism. They welcomed St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to the UK.

During a recent reception for religious leaders at Buckingham Palace, King Charles signalled he would continue to pursue dialogue.

He said he recognised his "duty to protect the diversity of our country, including by protecting the space for faith itself and its practice through the religions, cultures, traditions and beliefs to which our hearts and minds direct us as individuals.

"The beliefs that flourish in, and contribute to, our richly diverse society differ. They, and our society, can thrive only through a clear collective commitment to those vital principles of freedom of conscience, generosity of spirit and care for others which are, to me, the essence of our nationhood.

"I am determined, as King, to preserve and promote those principles across all communities, and for all beliefs, with all my heart."

Commentators predict that the new King's coronation next year is likely to include members of non-Anglican churches. Other faiths may also be included for the first time.

Source

• National Catholic Reporter

Speaking to faith leaders at a reception at Buckingham Palace, Charles emphasised his own strong Christian faith.

It is a position the new king has long held. As Prince of Wales, he said he wished to be regarded as both a defender of faith as well as Defender of the Faith.

His words were soon put into action when the time of his reception with faith leaders at Buckingham Palace last Friday had to be moved from a 6pm to 5pm start.

The change enabled Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis to attend the reception and leave in time to get home before Shabbat began at 7pm.

At the reception, Charles told the 30-plus leaders of different faiths: "I am a committed Anglican Christian, and at my Coronation I will take an oath relating to the settlement of the Church of England.

"At my accession, I have already solemnly given — as has every sovereign over the last 300 years — an oath which pledges to maintain and preserve the Protestant faith in Scotland.

"I have always thought of Britain as a ‘community of communities'. That has led me to understand that the sovereign has an additional duty — less formally recognised but to be no less diligently discharged.

"It is a duty to protect the diversity of our country, including by protecting the space for Faith itself and its practice through the religions, cultures, traditions and beliefs to which our hearts and minds direct us as individuals.

"This diversity is not just enshrined in the laws of our country, it is enjoined by my own faith. As a member of the Church of England, my Christian beliefs have love at their very heart.

"By my most profound convictions, therefore — as well as by my position as sovereign — I hold myself bound to respect those who follow other spiritual paths, as well as those who seek to live their lives in accordance with secular ideals."

Charles also spoke about protecting other religions.

"I have always thought of Britain as a ‘community of communities'. That has led me to understand that the sovereign has an additional duty - less formally recognised but to be no less diligently discharged.

"It is a duty to protect the diversity of our country, including by protecting the space for faith itself and its practice through the religions, cultures, traditions and beliefs to which our hearts and minds direct us as individuals. This diversity is not just enshrined in the laws of our country, it is enjoined by my own faith.

Afterwards Cardinal Vincent Nichols tweeted: "Earlier today I was privileged to be part of an audience with King Charles.

"In my conversation with him, I assured him that catholics had continued in heartfelt prayer for his mother. He expressed his gratitude and asked me to ensure that catholics know of his thanks and gratitude."

Source

• The Tablet
• Church Times