It’s normal in any relationship for there to be differences in values or personal beliefs. While there are usually shared values and areas where two people are totally in synch, it’s rare for any pair to share every value and belief equally. The same is true for Prince William and Kate Middleton, who have radically different beliefs in one important area.
William and Kate met at university, that formative period where young people explore themselves and the world around them and come out the other end, often with a very different outlook to when they went in. William even had a bit of a wobble when it came to staying at university, but stuck the course, and ended up married to Kate, now Katherine, Princess of Wales. So it’s no surprise that the pair have shared values, but more shocking is one area where they differ — especially due to William’s future Royal duties.
When Kate was diagnosed with cancer she received immediate treatment. Although there was silence from the Palace during the period where the Princess was being treated, she did eventually open up about her experience with chemotherapy. In the wake of her successful cancer treatment, Kate has offered support to others with cancer. But there are reports that, as traumatic life events often cause, Kate’s relationship with faith and spirituality has changed.
In an exclusive Daily Mail online article penned by himself, author Robert Hardman tells of details in his upcoming book, Charles III. The Royal author writes that Kate has “become rather more interested in questions of faith” since her diagnosis and treatment for cancer, according to inside Royal sources.
But Kate’s newfound interest in faith and religion is said to be in stark contrast to William’s own. The Prince and heir to the throne reportedly has little interest in matters of faith. According to Hardman, William doesn’t have “his father’s interest in faith and spiritualism, nor the late Queen’s solid devotion to the Anglican communion.” During his confirmation as monarch, King Charles stated he will defend and uphold all faiths in the UK, not just the Anglican Church as is required by his role.
But William may tread a different path. There have been suggestions that William will end the religious components to the ceremonial oaths an in-coming monarch must swear. The U.K. monarch is nominally the head of the Church of England, the established church of the United Kingdom. Some have suggested this may be the beginning of the end of the established status of the Anglican Church — which has been disestablished in Wales since 1914, and which is also not the established church in Scotland.
Although Hardman writes that William will perform his constitutionally required duties, he is likely to do so without enthusiasm or feigned interest. Perhaps the most insightful comment came from a Royal insider:
“He is a modern young man, and I think he gets embarrassed by certain aspects of ceremonial and religion.”
And William is in good company in the U.K., as census data and research reveals that religiosity in the kingdom is in sharp decline. New research shows that less than half of the U.K. population believes in God, and that atheists outnumber theists in the U.K. for the first time. So while William may be at odds with Kate on this, for once, the Royal prince is more in line with the people than the strange Royal microcosm.
