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iThink
Lv 6
iThink asked in Society & CultureRoyalty · 1 decade ago

Is this the reason a divorced person can't be king/queen?

Many people say that Prince Charles' divorce shouldn't be a barrier from his being crowned king because church rules are outdated and it "doesn't matter." I believe it's also been said that being king or queen doesn't mean the same thing as it did hundreds of years ago and it's just not as difficult ... or whatever.

What I'm mostly wondering is, when a particular person has been shown to be lacking the ability to uphold a vow they have made to just one person, their marriage vow, how can they be expected to upload a vow made to an entire nation of people, their coronation vow?

From what I know about Prince Charles, he sounds like he would make a good king given the chance, but his track record in the vow department doesn't really hold up.

If I were British (and it really mattered to me,) I'd probably have a hard time trusting him in this respect.

Update:

S: Presidents and Prime Ministers don't hold their offices for their entire lives like Kings and Queens do. A president's Oath of Office is only for 4-8 years.

Update 2:

I understand that marriages do break up, but isn't royalty held to a higher standard? I mean, isn't that the reason Charles and Diana's divorce was so controversial to begin with?

Update 3:

As for Henry VIII, he WAS married when he became king. He also went through extraordinary circumstances to rid himself of his first wife, the legality of which (for the time) is debatable.

11 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    The reason is that the monarch is supposed to be "Defender of the Faith" -- that is, of the Church. At the time when the Church of England prohibited the remarriage of divorced people in a religious ceremony, the view was that a monarch could hardly be "Defender of the Faith" if he had ended his marriage and thus couldn't remarry within the Church.

    The Church changed its stance on divorce several years ago, though clergy are still allowed to make decisions about whether a given couple should be permitted a religious ceremony on the basis of the reason for the failure of a first marriage. No C of E clergyman can be forced to perform a marriage for a divorced person.

    Britain contains many divorced people, just like other countries in the west. Social views of divorce have changed hugely since the days of Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson and Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend. The "vow" issue really isn't a major issue, except among some social conservatives. A failed marriage doesn't necessarily signify an inability to keep another vow, and I think many divorced Brits would be insulted by the notion that it did.

    Charles isn't popular for a variety of reasons, but like it or not, he is the best-educated and best-prepared Prince of Wales in history.

  • S
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago

    If Charles outlives the Queen, he will be king. Any other outcome would require a change in the law of 16 countries.

    >>

    What I'm mostly wondering is, when a particular person has been shown to be lacking the ability to uphold a vow they have made to just one person, their marriage vow, how can they be expected to upload a vow made to an entire nation of people, their coronation vow?

    <<

    Like Kennedy, Roosevelt, Eisenhower.Mitterand and Reagan (who were all either divorced or had mistresses) were unfit to be president? Or Lloyd George or John Major were unfit to be Prime Minister? Or Edward VIII was unfit to be King? It just doesn't follow.

  • 1 decade ago

    There is no rule against a divorced person becoming King or Queen.

    There never really was, at least after the time divorce became legal. A good thing, because church rules being "dated" would not matter - the Monarch is the head of the Church (at least in the UK), and is required to follow the canons (as the rules are called) - they make an oath to do so at the Coronation.

    You are right; from what I know of Charles (including info from some "insiders,") he is expected to be a great king. However, marriages do break up; it is a fact of life. If he does not hold my marriage break-up against me, I won't hold his against him. Less so in fact; both of his marriages are very much in the public eye which is a pressure I'm glad I don't have to deal with!

  • 1 decade ago

    There's never been a rule that says a divorced man can't be monarch. After all, Henry VIII was divorced.

    But a lot of people have historically had an issue with divorce, and its doubly important here since the British monarch is also head of the Anglican church. It has nothing to with with keeping coronation vows. It has to do with being an adulterer if you "remarry", because in the eyes of people against dirvorce you're still married to the first wife.

    Thus, since Diana died, the divorce argument has been rendered moot. Regardless whether or not to recognize their divorce, now Charles is a widower and thus was free to marry Camilla.

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  • 1 decade ago

    The fact is that divorce is commonplace in England now, and it seems unreasonable to demand that members of the royal family should be denied the right to divorce, when everyone else does it.

    Moreover, the church of England was originally established by a man (Henry VIII) who wanted to get rid of his wife.

    I don't think Charles's divorce renders him unfit to be King. Many other monarchs have led extremely disreputable lives,having numerous mistresses etc. Charles appears to be faithful to Camilla. I think he will probably make a good King.

  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    I divorced my husband because he was neglectful and I lost all love and respect for him. We tried counselling a few times and things got better, but by the time I chose divorce I no longer wanted to try counseling because he would only change for a little while and then go back to the same as before. It could have been avoided if I had chosen to stay in a loveless marriage.

  • 1 decade ago

    King Henry VIII had many wives and he still managed to get things done. The main issue with Charles is people liked Diana a lot more than his current wife, Camilla. He is also unpopular because he plans on intervening in politics.

  • 1 decade ago

    The Queen has made it obviously clear than Charles will never be king.

    Aside from that, the reason depends on the country, as for Britain, the crown is considered head of the church and defender of the faith...as per Biblical rules, the head of the church can not be divorced; therefore, the king/queen can not be divorced.

    Source(s): Historical knowledge and Biblical references
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Prince Charles' divorce will NOT stand in the way of his becoming king. Period. The rest of your question is incorrect and superfluous.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    There is no law in the United Kingdom which stipulates that a divorced person cannot become the Sovereign.

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