Charles turns into the ‘Convenor King’ and defends all religions, not just Christianity, writes CATHERINE PEPINSTER. Now he needs his family to hear the message of unity…

Thirty years ago, Charles’s interest in religion was considered controversial.

His admission to biographer Jonathan Dimbleby that he wanted to be ‘defender of the faith’, rather than Defender of the Faith – the title our monarchs have used for 500 years – raised alarm bells, especially in the Church of England.

He eventually rowed back and declared unequivocally that he was Defender of the Faith at his accession ceremony last year. It was a title mentioned many times during his Accession Council and in proclamations across the country.

Charles, however, is nothing if not determined, and there are signs that he has it both ways: that as supreme governor of the Church of England, he is a committed Anglican, like his late mother.

But that, as he suggested in 1994, he is indeed also the Defender of the Faith – and of all those among his new subjects who believe in God.

We saw this in his Christmas message, which, widely circulated as a meditation on the environment, was more deeply religious – and more openly embraced other religions – than most expected.

In fact, his opening words were: “Many of the festivals of the world’s great religions are celebrated with a special meal.”

Before we conclude: ‘The care of this creation is the responsibility of people of all religions and of no religion. We care for the earth for the sake of our children’s children.

‘In my lifetime I have been so happy to see a growing awareness of how we must protect the Earth and our natural world as the common home we all share.

And that: ‘such values ​​are universal and unite our Abrahamic family of religions and other belief systems across the Commonwealth and around the world.’

Within days of becoming king, Charles called a meeting of religious leaders at Buckingham Palace and made his views clear: He told them he had a duty to protect religions of all kinds.

Since then there have been countless visits to churches, synagogues and temples.

For the king has taken on an unprecedented role for himself that no other monarch has ever played before: as a mediator of conversations, helping to build religious dialogue even when there are obvious tensions between people of different faiths.

Charles’s work took on new urgency after the Hamas atrocity on October 7 and the subsequent attacks on Gaza by the Israeli army.

Six weeks later, the king joined faith leaders at an event at Lambeth Palace, hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, to hear from people about what was happening in Britain amid reports of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain and also attacks on Muslims.

He was so concerned about what he heard that he cleared his calendar to make room for another meeting, this time of faith leaders and grassroots activists.

That took place a week ago at Buckingham Palace.

As one of the attendees put it: ‘He arranged it at breakneck speed. He wanted to show support and listen and learn.”

There was no talk of status at the ceremony: Charles sat at round tables in a palace meeting room and spoke to people involved in community reconciliation, using the meeting skills he developed over many years as Prince of Wales had developed.

Although his late mother, Elizabeth II, was also interested in various religions, this ‘convenor king’ approach shows something of the restless curiosity he inherited from his father, the late Duke of Edinburgh.

Prince Philip spoke to a range of organizations and faith groups and encouraged them to come together and meet in Windsor.

Charles has taken up the mantle and urged faith leaders and activists to gather again in Windsor early next year.

In past decades, this work has almost exclusively involved men, but the King was also keen to hear from the women involved.

This Christmas, people were reminded how important it is for the King to interact with people of different faiths when a BBC One documentary, presented by the Daily Mail’s Robert Hardman, was broadcast on Boxing Day, taking viewers inside the coronation in May.

For the first time ever, the coronation of a monarch involved not only the Church of England, but also other Christian denominations and other religions.

The Protector of Religions insisted that they participate.

In the meantime, it is sad that a man who has built a role for himself with Charles the Peacemaker still has to resolve the conflict in his own family.

• Catherine Pepinster is the author of Defenders of the Faith – the British monarchy, Religion and the Coronation, published by Hodder and Stoughton