Who was Queen Elizabeth’s spiritual mentor – and why has he stopped now?

This week’s Garter Day was presided over for the first time by King Charles III. But it marked another historic moment: the retirement of the late Queen’s favorite cleric.

Bishop David Conner, the Queen’s spiritual guide, most trusted priest and the man who presided over her funeral, finally bows after 25 years of service.

Now 76, he should have left at 70, the usual Church of England retirement age. But it is clear that the Queen has personally asked him to stay “to see her out.”

The role is vital to the monarch’s spiritual well-being and it is thought that the late Her Majesty did not want a change this late in life.

His successor, the Right Reverend Christopher Cocksworth, Bishop of Coventry, has just been announced.

The Dean of Westminster will place the Imperial Crown of State and the Orb and Scepter on the altar during the Committal Service for Queen Elizabeth in September 2022. It is clear that at her request he had continued to work well into his 70s “to extend her to see’

Senior members of the Royal Family attend the Garter Service at Windsor – the last to be led by the Dean

While many people assume it’s the Archbishop of Canterbury who comes closest to the monarch’s mentor – and the current Archbishop, Justin Welby, helped mentally prepare the King for his coronation – it’s usually the Dean of Windsor who does that role plays.

Bishop David, also known as Register of the Order of the Garter, was one of Windsor’s longest-serving deans, a post always held by a cleric personally chosen by the monarch.

And with Elizabeth II and Prince Philip spending their final years in Windsor, thanks to the Covid lockdown, the Dean became increasingly important to them.

Their confidence in him was evident when Queen Elizabeth asked Bishop Conner to preach at Prince Philip’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey.

He was also seen at the ordination of the then Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005 and at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018.

Bishop David has been asked to officiate the late Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021

Queen Elizabeth shakes hands with the Dean after Easter Mass in Windsor, 2018

But the dean’s most important role came last year when he attended the ceremony and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at St George’s Chapel on September 19.

That the Queen had finally laid down the burden of office was poignantly symbolized when the Dean removed her crown, orb and scepter from her coffin and placed it on the high altar of St George’s.

Now the Dean, too, lays down his own burden, completing more than 20 years of eventful service to the Sovereign.