Today, the Prince and Princess of Wales will attend the installation of the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Ahead of that moment, the British media has been talking a lot about Prince William’s faith or lack thereof. One of William’s senior aides even tried to thread the needle by admitting that William basically has no use for religion of any kind but he’s committed to the position he will inherit, Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Sources also confirmed that William is still “embarrassed” by religious ceremonies because he’s such a modern man. Well, now the Telegraph has chimed in with their own piece about Bill of Little Faith: “Prince William’s Christian journey: Big on the Church, hesitant about God.” There are a few quotes in here I wanted to discuss.
[Prince William] is still sounding out his own faith and there is no confirmation that he necessarily believes in God, although those who know him err on the side of “yes” if pushed.
Yet those around him believe this poses no problem in relation to his future role as head of the Church. Rather, sources say, frankness about his Christian journey brings “authenticity” that will ultimately only enrich his bond with the Church.
“He takes his role very seriously and wants to build a deeper relationship with the Church,” a source tells The Telegraph. “But, as with everything he does, he will do it in an authentic way.”
Prince William does not, in other words, want to claim deeper faith or theological knowledge than he has, but plans to make his future as Supreme Governor count “in his own thoughtful way”. Those who have worked with him point to the overlaps between the Church of England’s values and the Prince’s royal work so far. “Community, talking to your neighbours, looking after the vulnerable … there’s a lot of crossover in values,” one concedes.
Lambeth Palace is reported to be “practical” about the future king’s lack of regular churchgoing. “The Prince and the Archbishop are both passionate about it not being a private members’ club and making it accessible and relevant,” a source said of the Church.
That is more charitable than the reaction of some to the briefing about the future king’s faith.
Gavin Ashenden, former chaplain to the late Queen, described William as “a really sweet man with sort of vacant ideas about God”.
Theo Hobson, a theologian, said the briefing “leaves the impression” that William “does not really consider himself a Christian, but knows that he must keep this semi-veiled”.
There are no known plans for the Prince of Wales to carry out official engagements with the Church of England, but this is a start. “He understands the importance of the role he will inherit,” the palace aide says of the Prince. “He is committed to carrying it forward with sincerity, authenticity and a clear sense of purpose.”
I agree with this assessment: William “does not really consider himself a Christian, but knows that he must keep this semi-veiled.” Everyone’s talking around how performative this has been from William and his team, because William believes (perhaps correctly) that his job IS about the performance of it, not the embodiment of it. It’s not simply about William’s lack of Christian faith, he also doesn’t care about looking like he’s religious in any way. He thinks people should only care about him showing up and going through the motions without any spiritual connection to any of it. Also: “a really sweet man with sort of vacant ideas about God…” Well, I agree that he’s vacant.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
-
- The Prince of Wales, patron of the College of Paramedics, speaks during the inaugural Emergency and Critical Care Conference at the Birmingham Conference and Events Centre. The conference is dedicated to supporting emergency responders in making effective decisions under pressure. Picture date: Wednesday January 15, 2025.,Image: 953982525, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon/Avalon
-
- Britain’s Prince William speaks with Mark Morrison, Manager of Tiber football centre, as he meets with members of Tiber Young People’s Steering Group, during a visit to Tiber in Liverpool, Britain, January 23, 2025.,Image: 956912543, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Temilade Adelaja/Avalon/Avalon
-
- Britain’s Prince William plays football, as he meets with members of Tiber Young People’s Steering Group, during a visit to Tiber in Liverpool, Britain, January 23, 2025.,Image: 956912553, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Temilade Adelaja/Avalon/Avalon
-
- Britain’s Prince William looks on, as he meets with members of Tiber Young People’s Steering Group, during a visit to Tiber in Liverpool, Britain, January 23, 2025.,Image: 956912652, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Temilade Adelaja/Avalon/Avalon
-
- Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales reacts asm he meets residents in the garden during a visit to Millennium House in Poole, on the south coast of England on February 28, 2025 to unveil a new Homewards Activator partnership which will help to deliver new homes across the six Homewards locations. Millennium House is an 11-bed mental health supported housing scheme where residents are given their own support plan, tailored to their specific needs, to help get them to a place where they can live independently.,Image: 970138939, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: HENRY NICHOLLS/Avalon
-
- Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales gestures during a visit to Millennium House in Poole, on the south coast of England on February 28, 2025 to unveil a new Homewards Activator partnership which will help to deliver new homes across the six Homewards locations. Millennium House is an 11-bed mental health supported housing scheme where residents are given their own support plan, tailored to their specific needs, to help get them to a place where they can live independently.,Image: 970139042, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: HENRY NICHOLLS/Avalon
-
- The Prince and Princess of Wales attend the annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey, in London. Picture date: Monday March 10, 2025.,Image: 974325989, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
-
- TALLINN, ESTONIA – MARCH 21: Prince William, Prince of Wales attends some field training after the official handover ceremony between The Royal Dragoon Guards and the Mercian Regiment to highlight a transfer of authority at Tapa camp on March 21, 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia. During The Prince of Wales visit to Estonia he will meet with the Mercian Regiment, support NATO’s eastern flank, and explore Estonia’s response to the Ukraine conflict and advancements in renewable energy and technology.,Image: 977764159, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson/Avalon
-
- Prince William, Prince of Wales, attends a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on the 80th anniversary of VE Day, London, UK, 08 May2025.,Image: 996583504, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: JULIAN SIMMONDS/Avalon
When has pretend “lad about town” William ever been authentic? He and Kate are two of the less authentic people in the entire family.
The “sweet man” comment is so dead on.
William has brought this upon himself by refusing to attend church once in a blue moon. This should have been nipped in the bud years ago and as always, he allowed it to fester.
Incredibly vacant not sweet but evil!!
The sweet man part was funny. Sure. So sweet he’s wants to block his brother and his brother’s family from ever entering the country with security. Those are not the actions of a sweet man.
It made him sound like a child, lol. Sweet but vacant is not how you describe a grown man.
As a non-native speaker I’m at a complete loss! What for god’s sake are vacant ideas of God? Vacant as in free? Or completly open? Or…? What does that even mean???
I’d guess it means he’s so empty spiritually he doesn’t think about a Supreme Being other than himself.
Do these people actually believe that? As in this day and age they still belive that they are the Supreme being,anointed by God,the chosen one!!??? Ehhh I can’t believe with the evolution of everything they actually believe that nonsense.
Exactly!
As with everything Peg has zero ideas absolutely none so vacant.
Think vacant expression as often seen in Kate.
There is not much there
I suspect it means the same as for a lot of people, that they go through life without thinking about God or the nature of or the existence of, etc. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with William not being religious – he’s just stuck because it’s part of the job description.
It’s not a compliment. It means empty headed.
Vacant means empty.
It means William doesn’t have any ideas about God – he’s, at least functionally, an atheist.
Empty, meaningless ideas.
‘talking to your neighbours’
To tell that that:
1)they’ll be evicted from their homes because William does not want neighbours
2)they are banned from assessing the public park from their normal route
3)their children’s group is now cancelled
4)all of the above
@INGE
IT’S WORSE…!
ad.2
Is prohibitedn entry to the 150-acre public park, for which residents have PAIND and continue to pay.
The park’s closure also translates into the closure/bankruptcy of several institutions and businesses, including the inability to sell Christmas trees. A children’s center is also closed.
ad.3
The children’s center has been CLOSED!
Scooter is so not a sweet man. Sweet man doesn’t go on about taking titles away from his brother, sister in law and their children.
Billy the basher is not a sweet man. He’s a bully, a racist, loves joking about other people, is very rude, constantly incandescent with rage, throws things at his wife, assaults his brother etc
The word ‘vacant’ is doing a lot of work here.
Have I got this right about William
1)is going to be head of church but complains about the ceremonies
2)is president of the BAFTAS but complains about having to watch the films(though he did award himself one
3)says homelessness is his lifes mision but evicts people from their homes if they live too close & his own tenants live in damp, mouldy houses
4)claims to want to protect the wildlife but loves to shoot said wildlife & thinks glory hunting is fine
5)has known he’s going to be prince of wales most of his life but thinks he’s earned a sticker for finally starting to learn welsh…… on duolingo
6)claims peace in the middle east is another lifes mission but has said f all about the war
?
He’s also very authentic. Don’t forget that part!
lol
You are mostly right. Don’t forget he’s going to end racism in sports in between Aston Villa matches.
The only things Willy does authentically are hate his brother and act unhinged at his beloved football games.
That is SUCH a British burn. Ouch.
As I am unfamiliar with British burns, I was going to say this has big “bless your heart” energy. Sweet on the surface, a shiv in the side for you to find later.
Ha okay looking at this in a bless your heart kind of way makes more sense.
This is exactly how I interpreted it. It’s not a compliment, at all, even with the sweet part.
That is EXACTLY how I read that. The “sweet” was also the price of admission for calling William “vacant.”
Gotta pay the tax before you drop the hammer.
How can anyone say William is a “sweet man” when he’s made hatred of his brother and sister-in-law his entire personality, and his own proxies constantly remind us of his perpetual state of incandescent anger, and how impatient he is for his father to just hurry up and die already, and how his only plans for his reign are to punish various family members?
One of the reasons a lot of people speculate about Shakespeare’s religion (being Catholic, or ambivalent about religion in general) is the famous line in Henry V, “Every man’s soul is his own.” But that’s true in all religions. Just, to believe in a religion, you have to believe that you have a soul. God is kind of the mirror to that idea. I wonder if William thinks the soul is kind of like a ghost in a cartoon about Halloween, like, what a jape, what a gas. People who are shallow imagine that everyone who is reaching higher or digging deeper is faking it on some level. It’s the mark of the truly second-rate: self-satisfaction.
This piece and the Times briefing by his staff both say: “William doesn’t care as being seen as performative, because he doesn’t think the British public cares whether he’s performative, and he doesn’t even care that they don’t care that he doesn’t care.”
The Times piece was pretty explicit that Britain is increasingly multicultural and agnostic. William’s not wrong about that. He’s also not wrong about going through the religion motions, because more and more people aren’t buying the other monarchy justifications–the nepo baby and life-of-public service–at least with lazy and greedy WanK.
Where William’s dead wrong is making supposed public apathy his whole excuse to keep being a lazy, performative a$$ for something that IS meaningful for a (even if dwindling) part of Britain.
Apathy is coming from the top. William radiates it. He believes in the monarchy as a source of wealth, but not as a source of support of its subjects. The religion part is just nitpicking. I don’t think the people are clamoring for him to sit in the dark at Forest Lodge, contemplating the meaning of God. But they could use a cheerleader – someone who is proud of the UK, proud of the people and their accomplishments, who cares about their hurts and sorrows and difficulties, someone with heart. William doesn’t have that heart.
For me, the religion issue is that its just one more thing where William is going to do the bare minimum. You’re right, no one expects him to sit around all day in Forest Lodge pondering God and the meaning of the Bible and all of that. no one expected him to a be a theology major in college or to attend church at 6 am every morning. And like we’ve talked about this week, him being agnostic is probably more relatable to the younger population.
But this just feels like another part of his role where he’s like “I dont like that, not doing it” and it seems like it doesn’t matter – he’s king anyway no matter how times he goes to church – but that attitude is going to start to sour the public, if it hasn’t already.
@Becks1 – Yes, that’s the thing. He’s taking everything and he’s giving nothing. And he thinks he’s not being a hypocrite by actually saying the people shouldn’t expect more. The public is already soured, which is why nobody shows up to see him, we don’t get gushing quotes from the people about wonderful he is, and the only way anyone can sell a book or article about him is if it includes how much he hates H&M. The people can’t love William if he doesn’t love them.
100% to your last line – “The people can’t love William if he doesn’t love them.”
And @YankeeDoodles down below said something similar about how what people DO expect from William is for him to care about “his” people. And he doesn’t. He doesn’t really seem to care about anything besides himself, Aston Villa, and his children.
No one actually takes him seriously when he talks about homelessness, or racism, or the environment, because he doesn’t care about those things. It’s performative. Same with religion.
I may have no faith of my own and issues with organised religion but I want the person leading something to believe and care about what they do.
To put it in a way William might understand, I’m not going to hire someone to coach my football team who isn’t sure if they feel strongly about football.
Well, I see we’re still complaining and explaining Wills so quiet its virtually non-existent “faith”…Sounds likes some people are in full blown panic mode.
Crazy question: can William step down:refuse this position as head of the church? Who even says he has to keep it? If King Henry can create a whole new religious sect and declare himself leader of that church, surely William can at least take himself out of the “leadership” position? I imagine church goers would appreciate an actual person of faith as their leader.
Also – what are the responsibilities for being the leader? Do clergy actually ask King Charles for advice? Suggestions on sermons? What music to play? (Kidding, but I’m seriously asking what the monarch actually “does” for their church?)
The bottom line is, you have to care about something more than yourself. William doesn’t do that. No one expects him to wrestle with theology. They just expect him to care about “his” people. And he doesn’t. It’s really glaring how little he cares for anyone, really. At least Charles cared for Camilla. It was a humanising dimension to his otherwise woolly and self-involved persona. But William really seems like a one-dimensional dude. Like, you had a laboratory, and you aimed to breed A Man With No Soul. Behold. QED.
I find it so weird. LOTS of people aren’t particularly religious. Not everyone is genuinely interested in these things like Charles, but in that class they just perform the rites, they go through the motions – why can’t he just do that? Why has this narrative even come about that he’s not a believer? It doesn’t seem like he’s fervently in favour of anything else like atheism, so why not just fake it better and avoid the issue? This statement raises more questions than it answers!
I’m noticing that William’s team is using words and terms once associated more closely with Meghan, such as “he will do it in an authentic way” and “in his own thoughtful way”. As I recall she was soundly mocked for being too “woke” by using such words.
I believe he’s “vacant” and pleasure seeking in general. However, if his Moriarty (Harry), crosses that vacant mind, watch out for all the the fire and brimstone and dirty deeds afoot. I truly believe William would have no compunction in having his only brother killed by others (and getting plausible deniability) as when Charles had his first wife killed. You don’t have to be King Henry the VIII to get away with killing family members in England .
Except … the entire premise of British royalty is that the monarch is the designee of … God.
If there is no God, then there is no monarch.
Am I missing something?
“a really sweet man with sort of vacant ideas about God…” should be followed with ”bless his heart”
That statement makes me want to be violently ill. It’s Prince William who is vacant … totally vacant.
There’s genuinely sweet, there’s saccharine sweet with a metallic aftertaste — and there’s heartburn-inducing, highly acidic sweet.
I guess vacuous Bulliam the Incandescent is firmly ensconced in the latter category, and there’s no hope for him to ever change.
If he at least admitted to being an atheist, or agnostic. But the continued fakery, and the Firm and the institution that is the Anglican church covering for him, is beyond the pale.