A private letter from 1998 reveals that King Charles, then Prince of Wales, once viewed Orthodoxy as the only Christian denomination untouched by “abhorrent political correctness.”
This sentiment, expressed years before he became King and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, could be seen as a subtle critique of the church he was ultimately destined to lead.
According to The Times, the letter, marked “private and confidential,” was sent from Balmoral Castle to Dudley Poplack, an interior designer who worked with the royal family. After Poplack’s passing in 2005, the letter was later sold at auction by Lay’s Auctioneers in Penzance, Cornwall, fetching over £1,700 (now equivalent to approximately $2,200).
Charles has long shown admiration for the Greek Orthodox Church, the faith into which his father, Prince Philip, was baptized. In the letter to Poplack, the then 49-year-old Prince wrote that, as he grew older, he found himself increasingly drawn to the “great, timeless traditions of the Orthodox Church,” which he saw as uncorrupted by what he termed “abhorrent political correctness,” as reported by The Times.
At the time of Charles’s remarks, the Church of England had recently begun ordaining women priests, with the first ordinations occurring in 1994, although Charles never publicly opposed this shift.
In 1998, the Church had yet to permit the remarriage of divorced individuals with living former spouses, a change that would ultimately allow Charles to receive the Archbishop of Canterbury’s blessing for his marriage to Camilla in 2005.
King Charles, Greece, and Orthodoxy
King Charles has an affinity with Greece and the Greek Orthodox Church. During his recent battle with cancer, he sought spiritual advice from his friend Archimandrite Ephraim, Abbot of the Greek Orthodox Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos.
Abbot Ephraim is said to have told Greek media outlets: “Yes, he has been in contact since the diagnosis and I believe he’ll overcome it. Charles has a spiritual sophistication, a spiritual life.”
His coronation in May 2023 included Greek Orthodox chanting as a homage to the king’s late father, Prince Philip, who was born in Corfu and was a member of the former Greek royal family.
He was present at and gave a speech during the events to mark the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, and it is known that he has often visited Mount Athos to distance himself from luxuries and the limelight.
When King Charles—then Prince Charles—said that Greece is in his blood upon his first official visit to the country, he was not just speaking metaphorically, as both his father and grandfather were born in Greece.
King Charles was the second cousin to the late ex-king Constantine through their fathers. Constantine’s father, King Paul of Greece, and the Duke of Edinburgh were first cousins. George I of Greece was their grandfather.
Related: King Charles: The Monarch Who Loves Greece
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