Church Army at the Coronation

King Charles’ coronation was a historic event with the joyful participation of two remarkable bishops who are also part of Church Army – Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani and Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin.

Church Army has a long association with the Royal family going back to patronage of King George VI and his wife the Queen Elizabeth and also the late HM Queen Elizabeth II. We pray that God will guide the king in all he does.

“We’re all invited to, from king to pauper, to be part of something that serves others. No-one is too great to serve, and no-one is too small to be served.”

 – Bishop Guli Francis Dehqani

During the ceremony Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani, who is Chair of the Board for Church Army,  held the king’s chalice, and Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin presented the Queen’s rod. Rose is the Bishop of Dover and formerly chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons and chaplain to the late HM  Queen Elizabeth II, and also a long serving Church Army Evangelist. 

This is the first time in history that female bishops have been participated in a coronation ceremony. Both Bishop Guli and Bishop Rose shared their experiences with the BBC, as shown below, as well as Channel 4’s Cathy Newman as the Abbey’s bells rang.

Speaking about our new king, Bishop Rose said “I have seen his majesty first hand and the work that he does. The work that he does now is literally about service. The hundreds of young people I have met who have said “my life has been changed because of the Prince’s Trust”, and he is committed to that.”

You can watch the full interview below.