King believed only one sect of Christianity ‘not corrupted by political correctness’, letter reveals
The King once praised the Orthodox Church as the only Christians who are “not corrupted by loathsome political correctness”, a newly uncovered letter has revealed.
In private correspondence from 1998, the then Prince of Wales admitted he felt more drawn to the “timeless traditions” of the Orthodox Church as he grew older.
Writing to his friend Dudley Poplak, the late interior designer who worked closely with the Royal family, the King said: “Personally, the older I get, the more I am drawn to the great, timeless traditions of the Orthodox Church.”
He added: “They are the only ones that have not been corrupted by loathsome political correctness.”
The King, who became Supreme Governor of the Church of England upon ascending the throne like his mother before him, has always had strong ties to the Greek Orthodox Church.
His father, the late Prince Philip, was baptised a Greek Orthodox, although he later converted to Anglicanism before marrying Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen.
To mark his paternal heritage, the monarch had a choir perform Psalm 71 in Greek at his Coronation last May.
He has also been seeking support and spiritual advice from Archimandrite Ephraim, a Greek Orthodox monk, in the wake of his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
In 2004, it was claimed that he was so enamoured with the Orthodox faith that he adorned a section of his Highgrove home with prized Byzantine icons, many said to originate from the Mount – the Orthodox world’s holiest site.
Greek Orthodox Church worship focuses more on traditional sacrament and sacred scriptures as opposed to preaching and prayer.
The newly uncovered letter comes as the Church of England has faced accusations of being consumed by political correctness and failing to stand up for Christian values over the past 20 years.
The Church has come under criticism for its diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives and, last year, faced scrutiny for the establishment of a £100 million fund to “address past wrongs of slavery” during a time of financial crisis among parishes.
In 2019, Dr Gavin Ashenden, the late Queen’s former chaplain, accused the Church of “swallowing political correctness wholesale” as he announced he was converting to Catholicism instead.
The King has long maintained a deep fascination with all religious faiths, however, from Islam to Buddhism, and has worked to bring different faith leaders together.
After he ascended the throne in September 2022, he pledged to protect the multiple faiths of a diverse Britain “no less diligently” than Christianity in his role as head of the Church.
The King’s typed letter, which has the Prince of Wales’ coat of arms stamped on the top, was written on Aug 24 1998, while he was staying at Balmoral Castle, and was marked “Private & Confidential”.
In the same correspondence to Mr Poplak, the King also criticised the move towards genetically modified [GM] crops or “Frankenstein” food. He wrote that the use of GM crops filled him with “utterable gloom and despair”.
The then Prince said he was resigned to the fact that “money drives everything and wisdom has been banished in the face of seemingly unstoppable marketing”.
It was penned the same year that he first set out his public opposition to GM foods, when he said it “takes mankind into realms that belong to God, and to God alone”.
Mr Poplak died in 2005 and the letter was one of several royal-related correspondences in his possession to go under the hammer at Lay’s Auctions of Penzance, Cornwall.
The cache of six letters was sold for more than £1,700.
A spokesman for Lay’s said: “It is an interesting, candid and intriguing letter in which Charles expresses his despair at the prospect of GMO and his interest in the traditions of the Orthodox Church.
“The Royal family aren’t supposed to make political statements as a rule, certainly in public, but these remarks were made in private correspondence.”
Buckingham Palace said it does not comment on private correspondence.
