What religion is the Royal Family and what year was the Chuch of England established? – The Sun | The Sun

THE ROYAL FAMILY traditionally attends church together on Christmas Day.

But are the royals Protestant or Catholic, and what's the history of the Church of England? Here's everything you need to know.

What religion is the Royal Family?

Religion lies at the heart of the Royal Family and the late  Queen often cited her faith in her public  addresses to the nation.

Britain's presiding monarch is the head of the Church of England and all members of the Royal Family are Christened into the Church of England, which is a Protestant strain of Christianity.

The reigning monarch, who's currently King Charles III, holds the title of Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

During her 1953 Coronation, the late Queen Elizabeth II was anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and took an oath to "maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England".

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As part of their role as the Defender of the Faith, the monarch helps the Prime Minister appoint archbishops, bishops and deans of the Church of England.

Can the royals marry outside the Church of England?

Because the Royal Family is so tied to the Church of England, there are very strict rules regarding religion.

In 2015, a law came in that allowed a royal to marry a Roman Catholic.

New rules on royal succession were brought into play, which disregarded male bias and said a future leader could marry a Catholic.

However, the monarch him or herself must still have been raised under the Church of England.

The rules were rushed through Parliament in 2013, ahead of Prince George's birth, but didn't take effect for another two years.

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When was the Church of England established?

Henry VIII established the Church of England in 1534, over a row with the Pope about his divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon.

The British king wanted the Pope to grant him an annulment, on the grounds that the marriage was illegal and incestuous because Catherine was the widow of his dead brother Arthur.

After several failed attempts to persuade him, Henry split from Rome and made himself the head of a new church.

However, the transition was far from smooth.

When Henry's first born Mary I took to the throne, following her younger brother Edward VI's six-year reign, she was determined to make Britain Catholic again.

In just three years, she burned hundreds of Protestants at the stake – earning her the title of Bloody Mary.

Her fruitless hopes of reinstating the Catholic Church died with her in 1558.

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