Terry Mattingly looks at the press coverage of the news that Meghan Markle is to be baptised and confirmed in the Church of England
If you hang out much with Anglicans, you know that many are not fond of references to King Henry VIII, and especially the role that his private affairs played in the history of their church. I have, as a reporter, heard my share of complaints about that – especially during the decade when I was an Episcopalian.
However, it is kind of hard to talk about the history of the English Reformation without mentioning the guy.
In the end, the Church of England split off from the Church of Rome. For most people, especially low-church Anglicans, this (a) makes it part of the wider world of Protestantism. However, it should be noted that some people argue that (b) the Anglican via media – a “middle way” between Protestantism and Catholicism – is its own unique form of faith. The odds are good that some Anglican readers will be offended by my description of (a), (b) or (a) and (b). This is complicated stuff.
This brings us, of course, to the love life of Prince Harry and faith identification of his live-in significant other turned fiance Meghan Markle.
We will start with an Evening Standard piece that caused a bit of Twitter buzz. The double-decker headline proclaimed:
This is why Meghan Markle will need to be baptised before she marries Prince Harry
Kensington Palace has confirmed that Meghan Markle will be baptised before her wedding next May
It appears that this report has been removed from the newspaper’s website, but here is a cached version, allowing readers to know what all the buzz was about. The crucial section said:
Meghan will begin the process of becoming a UK citizen and will also need to be baptised and confirmed before the ceremony as she is currently a Protestant.
Read the rest of the article at GetReligion
