In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."

Woman of the faith

British monarchs, although they hold the titles "defender of the faith" and "supreme governor of the Church of England," are not necessarily believers themselves. But Elizabeth II was a monarch apart.

"To understand her relationship to faith, you have to distinguish between Queen Elizabeth II, sovereign and formal, and Elizabeth Windsor, whose personal faith was alive," explained Gavin Ashenden, a former Anglican priest who was the Queen's honorary chaplain from 2008-2017.

"The constitutional balance requires that the Queen not express personal opinions," said Ashenden, who became a Roman Catholic in 2019.

"So the fact that she spoke openly about her faith was not insignificant," he pointed out.

Behind closed doors, Elizabeth II was very religious.

"Everyone knows that the Queen said her prayers, read the Bible and went to church every week," said Matthew Dennison, another of her biographers.

Elizabeth II was very open towards Catholics, who had long been reviled in the United Kingdom and seen by Queen Victoria as a risk to the country's security.

"(Elizabeth) called Cardinal Basil Hume 'our cardinal' and was very affectionate with Cardinal Murphy O'Connor," said Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe, former provincial of England and then Master of the Order of Preachers.

"She also appointed a Catholic as Lord Chamberlain, the first time since the Reformation!" he pointed out.

Queen Elizabeth met five popes during her long reign. The only ones who served during her lifetime whom she never met were Paul VI and John Paul I, who died just 33 days after becoming pope.

She provoked discontent among some Britons attached to state Anglicanism when she attended Catholic Vespers in Westminster Cathedral in 1995 for the church's 100th anniversary.

Pope Francis

Francis said he joins everyone who mourns her loss "in praying for the late Queen's eternal rest, and in paying tribute to her life of unstinting service to the good of the Nation and the Commonwealth, her example of devotion to duty, her steadfast witness of faith in Jesus Christ and her firm hope in his promises."

"I willingly join all who mourn her loss in praying for the late Queen's eternal rest, and in paying tribute to her life of unstinting service to the good of the Nation and the Commonwealth," the Pope said.

Shortly after her death, Pope Francis sent a message to offer his condolences to King Charles III for the death of his mother, the UK's longest-serving monarch.

"Deeply saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I offer heartfelt condolences to Your Majesty, the Members of the Royal Family, the People of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth."

Pope Francis also commended "her noble soul" to the mercy of God the Father.

"I assure Your Majesty of my prayers that Almighty God will sustain you with his unfailing grace as you now take up your high responsibilities as King. Upon you and all who cherish the memory of your late mother, I invoke an abundance of divine blessings as a pledge of comfort and strength in the Lord."

Cardinal Vincent Nichols

Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, paid tribute to her Christian faith and life of unstinting service.

"On 21 April 1947, on her twenty-first birthday, Princess Elizabeth said, ‘I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service'.

"Now, seventy-five years later, we are heartbroken in our loss at her death, and so full of admiration for the unfailing way in which she fulfilled that declaration.

"Even in my sorrow, shared with so many around the world, I am filled with an immense sense of gratitude for the gift to the world that has been the life of Queen Elizabeth II.

"At this time, we pray for the repose of the soul of Her Majesty. We do so with confidence because the Christian faith marked every day of her life and activity.

"In her Millennium Christmas message, she said, ‘To many of us, our beliefs are of fundamental importance. For me, the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example.'

"This faith, so often and so eloquently proclaimed in her public messages, has been an inspiration to me, and I am sure to many. The wisdom, stability and service which she consistently embodied, often in circumstances of extreme difficulty, are a shining legacy and testament to her faith.

"Our prayer is that she is now received into the merciful presence of God, there to be reunited with her beloved Prince Philip. This is the promise of our faith, and our deep consolation.

"Queen Elizabeth II will remain, always, a shining light in our history. May she now rest in peace."

Elizabeth made 10 visits to New Zealand - seen here on the 1981 Royal tour.

Archbishop Justin Welby

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said: "It is with profound sadness that I join the nation, the Commonwealth and the world in mourning the death of Her Late Majesty The Queen. My prayers are with The King and the Royal Family. May God draw near them and comfort them in the days, weeks and months ahead.

"As we grieve together, we know that, in losing our beloved Queen, we have lost the person whose steadfast loyalty, service and humility has helped us make sense of who we are through decades of extraordinary change in our world, nation and society.

"As deep as our grief runs, even deeper is our gratitude for Her Late Majesty's extraordinary dedication to the United Kingdom, her Realms and the Commonwealth. Through times of war and hardship, through seasons of upheaval and change, and through moments of joy and celebration, we have been sustained by Her Late Majesty's faith in what and who we are called to be.

"In the darkest days of the Coronavirus pandemic, The Late Queen spoke powerfully of the light that no darkness can overcome. As she had done before, she reminded us of a deep truth about ourselves - we are a people of hope who care for one another. Even as The Late Queen mourned the loss of her beloved husband, Prince Philip, we saw once again evidence of her courage, resilience and instinct for putting the needs of others first - all signs of a deeply rooted Christian faith.

"As we sustain one another in the face of this challenge, our shared grieving will also be a work of shared reimagining. I pray that we commence this journey with a sense of Her Late Majesty's faith and confidence in the future.

"As a faithful Christian disciple, and also Supreme Governor of the Church of England, she lived out her faith every day of her life. Her trust in God and profound love for God was foundational in how she led her life - hour by hour, day by day.

"In The Late Queen's life, we saw what it means to receive the gift of life we have been given by God and - through patient, humble, selfless service - share it as a gift to others.

"Her Late Majesty found great joy and fulfilment in the service of her people and her God, ‘whose service is perfect freedom' (BCP). For giving her whole life to us, and allowing her life of service to be an instrument of God's peace among us, we owe her a debt of gratitude beyond measure.

"The Late Queen leaves behind a truly extraordinary legacy: one that is found in almost every corner of our national life, as well as the lives of so many nations around the world, and especially in the Commonwealth.

"It was my great privilege to meet Her Late Majesty on many occasions. Her clarity of thinking, capacity for careful listening, inquiring mind, humour, remarkable memory and extraordinary kindness invariably left me conscious of the blessing that she has been to us all.

"In my prayers at this time I also give thanks for the marriage of The Late Queen and His Late Royal Highness Prince Philip. Theirs was an inspirational example of Christian marriage - rooted in friendship, nourished by shared faith, and turned outwards in service to others."

Cardinal Arthur Roche

In Rome, UK Cardinal, Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, said Queen Elizabeth "not only dedicated herself unstintingly to serve her people, but also entrusted this to God's protection.

"Her Christian faith, expressed so often in her annual Christmas messages and elsewhere, were moments of outstanding witness to her faith, the Gospel and the values of the common good, family life, peace and concord among peoples.

"Her graciousness and common touch, her statesmanship and love for her people in the many countries, cultures and religions of the Commonwealth have witnessed an unbroken and unique bond of dedication to the service of others. She has been greatly loved by all."

Source

• Reuters
• Vatican News
• The Tablet
• La Croix International

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

More than the pope — her reign saw seven of them — she was a constant presence in Christian life in Britain, at Church and in prayer.

She showed by example, leading ceremonies of national remembrance and addressing the nation and the Commonwealth at Christmas.

We all also knew her to be a regular churchgoer.

Her death leaves an enormous void for believers everywhere.

The optics of her position were wealth and glamour, but the philosophy which underpinned her approach to monarchy was a very quiet Christian humility.

In this, she was rather more like Pope Francis — that other great Christian figurehead of our time — than casual observers have imagined.

"For me", Queen Elizabeth said in her 2014 Christmas message, "the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness, he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance, and healing."

Aged 21, she made this highly personal and very Christian commitment on radio: "I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service."

Sadly, she was called to make this promise good just five years later when her father, King George VI, died an untimely and much-lamented death.

Queen Elizabeth personified Christian virtue for the next seven decades.

She was constant; she was reliable; she was indefatigable, unstuffy, unshowy, and uncomplaining. She never demanded gratitude but toiled on regardless.

And she displayed an intense commitment to God, which inspired her to find ways to embody values cherished by the British people.

She would not abdicate because she believed such an act would have violated her oath to a Higher Power.

She was queen for life because she had been anointed.

Her forbearance in the face of failing health and old age has therefore been one of the past decade's most visible outward signs of unwavering Christian faith.

Queen Elizabeth's crown may not have been one of thorns, but its burden was nevertheless still barbed and weighty.

A thousand photographers waited in earnest for a sign of annoyance, exasperation, arrogance, vanity, or aloofness. And yet, in years and years and years, none came.

The Queen was true to her word and was loved and admired for it.

Even at the end, she was still at her dutiful best, pushing past her obvious frailty on Tuesday to meet with politicians to arrange a change of British government.

She never complained; she never explained.

Her ethic was of the kind often referred to as Stoic — and Christianity certainly absorbed aspects of it from Greek philosophy. But this was also the ethic present in Christ's Passion.

Queen Elizabeth's life became its own very modern sort of Passion play, in which one person was identified with the sins of a nation.

Britain's Original Sin has come to be seen as that of Empire, a formation of which Her Majesty had begun her reign as public face.

Yet she bore the opprobrium that her nation's imperial legacy attracted with grace and humour.

More importantly, still, she sought to construct something positive from the embers of exploitation.

The Commonwealth will surely be her lasting legacy — a global fellowship in parallel with the Anglican communion, which unites peoples of many backgrounds and many faiths through a common desire to do good.

Queen Elizabeth's death can be a moment for all of us — Christians and non-Christians alike — to take stock of our quarrels, to pause them, and to unite in grief and mourning as we are reminded of inexorability.

Today we are often encouraged to express our feelings freely, to wear our hearts upon our sleeves, à la Prince Harry.

And so Queen Elizabeth's unsentimental brand of silent public virtue has, by contrast, come to seem a touch quaint, limiting, and outdated.

Yet the moment of her death affords an opportunity not only to give thanks for her steadfastness but also to reflect on its qualities as a model for our own lives.

Quiet Christianity helped Queen Elizabeth win over many critics, even those who were opposed to her ideologically. Her obvious tolerance and moderation brought out those same impulses in others.

It is a painful irony that her Anglican Communion itself is going through such public convulsions occasioned by an inability to chart the tolerant, moderate paths which she championed.

As a Briton, and as a historian, I felt an unfamiliar unease as the news unfolded.

For me, as for most of my fellow countrymen, this is uncharted territory: a time without our great national leader, the only monarch we have ever known. Something has changed forever.

Queen Elizabeth's response to such a crisis would surely have been to turn to Jesus — but to do so calmly, softly, and unobtrusively.

We must place our faith in him to deliver us from evil now that she is gone, following her lead for how that is done.

Rest in Peace, Your Majesty. God Save the King.

• Miles Pattenden is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at Australian Catholic University, and Visiting Fellow in the Humanities Research Centre at Australian National University.
• First published by the ABC. Republished with permission.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" urges Americans to look out for the flag that waves over "the land of the free and the home of the brave." "La Marseillaise," the anthem of republican France, calls its citizens to arms. But the UK's national anthem is a prayer, urging God to "save" — grant long life to — the queen.

It's a clear sign that in Britain, the head of state, the country and faith are inextricably linked.

This week "God Save the Queen" has been ringing out across Britain as the country has marked the 70th anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth II, the longest-serving English monarch.

When Elizabeth came to the throne in 1952, Britain was still being rebuilt after the end of World War II and its heavy bombing campaigns; Winston Churchill was prime minister and the country still had an empire.

The young queen's coronation suggested a new era — as the millions of television sets purchased to watch the live broadcast of the ceremony from London's Westminster Abbey signaled.

But the coronation itself was steeped in tradition and confirmed the continuing intertwining of the monarchy and religion.

The ceremony can be traced back more than 1,000 years and involves the anointing of the monarch who commits his or herself to a life of service to God and the people through sacred promises.

One of those, to uphold the Protestant religion, is also a reminder of the religious divisions of the past.

The queen's two titles of Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, given to her at her accession, also owe their existence to Reformation history.

Defender of the Faith was first bestowed on Henry VIII by a grateful pope for the English king's rebuttal of the teachings of Martin Luther, a title that Henry defiantly held onto even after breaking with Rome to found the Church of England. He made himself head, while his daughter, the first Elizabeth, called herself Supreme Governor of the Church of England, saying Jesus Christ was its head.

Today, the role of Supreme Governor indicates the British monarch retains a constitutional role regarding the established Church of England but does not govern or manage it.

The modern Elizabeth has left that to the bishops, although she addresses general synods and has a role as a listener and guide to her primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

But while Defender of the Faith has been over the years an inherited title and little more, Elizabeth II appears to have embraced it and made it her own, speaking out very openly in recent years about her own Christian faith and explaining how it has provided the framework of her life.

She has done this mostly through the medium of her annual Christmas message, a tradition begun by her grandfather, George V, in 1932, and continued by her father, George VI.

Her early Christmas Day broadcasts were platitudinous — the holidays as an occasion for family was a frequent theme.

In 2000, however, she spoke of the Millennium as the 2,000-year anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ, "who was destined to change the course of our history."

She went on to speak very personally and frankly about her faith: "For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example."

Similar sentiments have been aired at Christmas ever since.

God did get significant mention along the way.

In 1947, when she was 21 and six years from becoming queen, Elizabeth broadcast a public commitment, saying: "I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service … God help me to make good my vow."

As she planned her coronation with dress fittings, selecting music and getting the crown jewels from their display in the Tower of London, there were also sessions with then-Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher, who provided her with a book of special prayers — a volume she keeps to this day among her most treasured possessions.

The spiritual foundations of the British monarchy are to be found in Scripture's ideas about humility and wisdom being the great virtues of kings. Then there are the Gospels, with accounts of Jesus, the servant king, who has come to serve others.

Key passages on this theme, from the Gospels of John and Matthew, are read at a Maundy Thursday service where the queen distributes gifts to elderly people, an ancient ceremony meant to imitate Christ serving his disciples by washing their feet.

The queen also leads the nation at regular services honouring the war dead, or offering thanksgiving for her jubilees, but worship is not, for her, only a public show. She has attended church regularly throughout her life and is said to have an uncomplicated, Bible and prayer-book based faith.

That love of the Bible was something she shared with the American evangelist Billy Graham, whom she invited to preach for her on several occasions (though the close friendship the Netflix series "The Crown" suggested between them seems far-fetched).

She relies on the deans of Windsor — the clerics who run St George's Chapel, at Windsor Castle, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married — for spiritual solace.

Her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh, and her son, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, always displayed a more intellectual curiosity about religion, including a great interest in both other Christian denominations and other faiths.

Over the years, as Britain has become increasingly diverse, Elizabeth has expressed an increasing openness as well.

She has encouraged members of all faiths to be present at great church occasions during her reign and in the annual Commonwealth Day service held at Westminster Abbey.

She regularly meets different faith leaders, including five popes — a remarkable turnaround for a monarchy that once broke so spectacularly from Rome — though she has not gone so far as to ask other religious leaders to play any sort of role for her, such as be a chaplain.

There has been talk of disestablishment of the Church of England, even in Anglican circles, with some concern it privileges one religious group above others in an increasingly diverse nation.

Disestablishment would unravel the connection between the monarch, the Church of England and the state, which survives in Britain since the time of the Reformation.

Change would mean the removal of Church of England bishops from the House of Lords, although there has been little call for this from other faiths. Rather, they prefer representation of faith at the highest levels of the British Parliament.

But that issue of privileging seemed apparent when the queen spoke at Lambeth Palace in 2012, suggesting the Church of England might act as a sort of umbrella under which other faiths might shelter, by saying Anglicanism "has a duty to protect the free practice of all other faiths in this country."

The importance of other faiths was expressed Friday morning at the Platinum Jubilee thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral, in London, where not only leaders of Christian denominations but of other faiths were present, including Buddhists and Jews.

One major difference at today's thanksgiving service compared to previous ones for her reign's major anniversaries was the frequent references to looking after God's creation.

In the twilight years of her reign, she is coming to share Prince Charles' interest in the environment, but placing it firmly within her Christian concerns.

Attention is inevitably turning now to the next reign, with speculation about how much of an Anglican ceremony the next coronation will be.

The Church of England will undoubtedly take the lead, but just as Princess Diana's Westminster Abbey funeral combined tradition and innovation, as Commonwealth Day services have done for years, the next coronation will most likely offer that blend, too.

Charles once said he would become Defender of Faith, rather than Defender of the Faith, expressing concern that he needed to recognize the changing religious nature of Britain.

He has since retracted this, indicating he will adopt the traditional title.

Even so, he has engaged frequently with other faiths, particularly Judaism and Islam.

His interest in Islam has in part been aesthetic, with a particular appreciation for Islamic art and architecture, but he has also commented on its metaphysical, holistic view of the world and humanity's place in it, even as he has also expressed concerns about the radicalization of young people.

While this interest in Islam and an awareness of the growing population of Muslims in Britain has led to his support for Islamic organizations, such as the Centre for Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford, in more recent years he has reined back on it a little and instead become far more outspoken about the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.

The Prince of Wales has undoubtedly been innovative in his work, creating charities that work with young people, and championing the environment. But he likes tradition, too, be it church music or the Book of Common Prayer.

All signs are that his coronation will be like the man, with an innovative sheen on ancient tradition and a sincere regard for faith in diverse Britain.

• Catherine Pepinster is the author of "Defenders of the Faith - the British Monarchy, Religion and the Next Coronation," published by Hodder and Stoughton.
• First published in RNS. Republished with permission.

His letter was sent to celebrate the Queen becoming the longest reigning monarch in British history. Read more

Prince Charles recorded a video message for the launch of a report by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.

He said that faith leaders must ensure their followers respect believers in other faiths "rather than remaining silent".

The report concludes that Christians are the "most persecuted religious minority" in the world.

It notes that Muslim countries dominate the list of places where religious freedom is most under threat.

It also argues that religious freedom is in "decline" in western countries, because of a fear of extremism and a growing belief that faith should have no place in public life.

The Prince spoke of his anguish at the plight of Christianity in the region of its birth.

"It is an indescribable tragedy that Christianity is now under such threat in the Middle East - an area where Christians have lived for 2000 years, and across which Islam spread in 700AD, with people of different faiths living together peaceably for centuries," he said.

"It seems to me that our future as a free society - both here in Britain and throughout the world - depends on recognising the crucial role played by people of faith.

"And, of course, religious faith is all the more convincing to those outside the faith when it is expressed with humility and compassion, giving space to others, whatever their beliefs."

Setting out his own suggestions to improve the situation, he said: "First and foremost, rather than remaining silent, faith leaders have, it seems to me, a responsibility to ensure that people within their own tradition respect people from other faith traditions.

"We have yet to see the full potential of faith communities working together."

He said this would require people to have both a "maturity in one's own faith" and an "essential humility".

Prince Charles emphasised the importance of his own personal Christian faith, but he also signalled that he saw his role as to "defend" followers of other faiths including Islam.

Sources

• The Telegraph
• Aid to the Church in Need
• Image: The Independent