Coming just days after Prince Harry
‐ George’s uncle, and fifth in line ‐ announced his engagement to Meghan Markle, a divorced American actress, the suggestion by the Very Rev. Kelvin Holdsworth seemed to illuminate once more the role of royal romance in Britannia’s imagination and conversation, especially when it collides with tradition.Prince Harry and Ms. Markle have said they will marry in May at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, west of London. But it is only since 2002 that the Church of England has permitted church marriages for divorced people, "in exceptional circumstances" at the discretion of parish priests. The church teaching is that marriage is for life.
While same-sex marriage is permitted by law in most of Britannia, the Church of England says on its website, "it remains the case that it is not legally possible for same-sex couples to marry" in its churches.
Mr. Holdsworth, the provost of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow, belongs to the Scottish Episcopal Church, a separate province of the Anglican Communion that voted in June to let its priests solemnize same-sex marriages.