Defender of all faiths? Coronation puts focus on King Charles’s beliefs

The crowning ceremony will be a deeply Christian affair. Will it be at odds with king’s desire to reflect UK’s religious diversity?

In 1953, the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, the UK was predominantly Christian, with Sunday church attendance the norm, children taught to say their prayers at bedtime and vicars regarded with unquestioning deference.

Opinion polls in the 1950s and 1960s asking people to name their religion found that between 86% and 91% gave a Christian denomination.