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| Meghan Markle |
Changing one’s religion for marriage may seem like an old-fashioned ideal—but with the British royal family, old-fashioned is, well, what makes them what they are.
After The Sunday Times reported that Meghan Markle was to be baptized into the Church of England by Archbishop Canterbury, multiple outlets reported Wednesday that the top secret ceremony had already taken place. She was then confirmed immediately after.
Reportedly in attendance were husband-to-be Prince Harry, Prince Charles, Camilla Parker-Bowles, and a few close friends.
The fact that Meghan Markle planned to join the church isn’t new—Kensington Palace confirmed it back in November. But why the need to do so?
Markle, who was raised Protestant and went to Catholic school, technically did not have to become a patron of the Church of England to marry Harry. (But if this was a few years ago, and she was a Roman Catholic, that would be a different story: Members of the royal family weren’t allowed to have spouses of that religion until 2013, due to an ancient law dating back to the English Reformation.)
Neither did Kate Middleton, who was confirmed weeks before her 2011 wedding to Prince William.
Yet both allegedly did so out of respect to one very important person: the Queen.
The Queen of England is the head of the Church of England—or, more officially, the Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, a role British monarchs have held since the 16th century.
That duty, it’s said, is one that she takes very seriously. She attends church every Sunday—the one time of the week she carries cash. She described her faith as “the anchor in my life,” in her 2014 Christmas speech. (That’s not to say that she takes issue with any other faith. According to Buckingham Palace, “the Queen acknowledges and celebrates religious diversity and tolerance in the U.K. and the Commonwealth.”)
Middleton’s stakes were admittedly much higher than Markle’s—as wife to the future King of England and future head of the Church of England, she had a constitutional duty to raise her son, Prince George, as an Anglican, as he one day would take on William’s responsibility.
And, unlike Markle, Middleton was already baptized; she just hadn’t completed the sacrament of confirmation.
Even though her role is lower-profile, Markle still decided to follow in Middleton’s footsteps. “At the time of their engagement last November, she made clear she had chosen to be baptized and confirmed out of respect for the Queen’s role as the head of the Church of England,” writes veteran royal Daily Mail columnist Richard Kay.
It’s true that as a member of the Church of England, Markle can fully participate in important Windsor moments, like the Sandringham church service on Christmas.
But as religious diversity and secularization continues to grow in England, perhaps the next generation of royal spouses won’t feel the same.
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