Indeed, like many monarchs throughout history, the Queen viewed her royal duty as a role assigned to her by God. “I knew that she somehow felt a calling from her people, but more than that, she saw her calling as coming from Almighty God,” he remarked . In a Christmas message, the late Her Majesty spoke of her “personal responsibility before God”.

King Charles’s relationship with his Anglican faith is said to be a little more complicated than his mother’s, but no less profound. Addressing the TutorIan Bradley, author of God Save the King: The sacred nature of the monarchcontrasted the religious beliefs of King Charles with those of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Charles’ faith is “deep and strong, but more demanding, more intellectual, more complex” than that of the late Queen, Bradley said. “He is clearly attracted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and certain aspects of Islam. He is interested in all kinds of spirituality.

King Charles is known to have a deep, yet complex, relationship with his spirituality – here pictured looking at the pectoral cross of St Cuthbert during a visit to Durham Cathedral in 2018.

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But while the king has always felt a deep connection to his faith, his relationship with organized religion has been strained over the years. This week, a shocking letter of 1998 revealed how the then Prince of Wales felt as if the Anglican Church had been “corrupted” by “repugnant” political correctness.