Editing Defender of the Faith (section)

==Scottish, English and British usage==

===History===
[[File:1555 gold medal Queen Mary I of England.jpg|thumb|Medal of Queen Mary I with the legend "Maria I Reg. Angl. Franc. et Hib. Fidei Defensatrix"]]

The earliest use of the term appears in 1507, when King [[James IV of Scotland]] was granted the title of "Protector and Defender of the Christian Faith" by [[Pope Julius II]].  The title was conferred on James IV by the papal legate Robert Bellenden in a lavish ceremony in [[Holyrood Abbey]].<ref>Grant's "Old and New Edinburgh"</ref><ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James IV'', Tuckwell (1997); pp. 22.</ref>

"Defender of the Faith" has been one of the subsidiary titles of the English and later British monarchs since it was granted on 11 October 1521 by [[Pope Leo X]] to King [[Henry VIII]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/155661/defender-of-the-faith|title=defender of the faith – English royal title}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2020/07/defender-of-the-faith.html|title=Defender of the Faith|website=Medieval Manuscripts Blog|date=21 July 2020|access-date=10 May 2022}}</ref> His wife [[Catherine of Aragon]] also used the title.<ref>Antonia Fraser, ''The Wives of Henry VIII'', page 95</ref> The title was conferred in recognition of Henry's book ''[[Defence of the Seven Sacraments|Assertio Septem Sacramentorum]]'' (''Defence of the Seven Sacraments''), which defended the sacramental nature of [[marriage]] and the supremacy of the [[pope]]. This was also known as the "Henrician Affirmation" and was seen as an important opposition to the early stages of the [[Protestant Reformation]], especially the ideas of [[Martin Luther]].<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDq-DwAAQBAJ |title = The Defence of the Seven Sacraments|isbn = 9781538092026|last1 = O'Donovan|first1 = Louis|date = 5 November 2019| publisher=Dalcassian Publishing Company }}</ref><ref>{{cite EB9 |wstitle= Defender of the Faith |volume= VII |page=25 |short=1}}</ref>

Following Henry's decision to break with [[Roman Catholic Church|Rome]] in 1530 and establish himself as head of the [[Church of England]], the title was revoked by [[Pope Paul III]] and he was [[excommunicated]]. However in 1543<ref>[[35 Hen. 8]]. c. 3, {{cite book|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915533&view=1up&seq=1022|title=The Bill for the Kinges Stile |year=1963 |publisher=Dawsons of Pall Mall }} establishing the English title "Henry the Eight by the grace of God Kyng of Englonde Fraunce and Irelande Defendor of the faithe, and of the Churche of Englonde, and also of Irelande in earthe the supreme Hedde"</ref> the [[Parliament of England]] conferred (by a bill entitled "The Bill for the Kinges Stile") on King Henry VIII and his successors, now the defenders of the [[Anglican]] faith, the style "Henry the Eighth by the Grace of God King of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith and of the Church of England and also of Ireland in Earth the Supreme Head". All subsequent monarchs (except the Catholic Queen [[Mary I]]) became  [[supreme governor]]s.

King [[James V of Scotland]] was granted the title of "Defender of the Faith" by [[Pope Paul III]] on 19 January 1537, symbolizing the hopes of the papacy that the King of Scots would resist the path that his uncle Henry VIII had followed.<ref>Cameron, Jamie, ''James V'', Tuckwell (1998), 288.</ref><ref>Hay, Denys, ed., ''Letters of James V'', HMSO (1954), 328.</ref> Neither this title nor James IV's title of "Protector and Defender of the Christian Faith" became part of the full style of the [[monarch of Scotland]].

During [[The Protectorate]] (1653–59), the [[republicanism|republican]] heads of state [[Oliver Cromwell]] and [[Richard Cromwell]], more clearly profiled as Protestant than the monarchy, although claiming [[divine sanction]], did not adopt the [[Royal and noble styles|style]] "Defender of the Faith". The style was reintroduced after the [[English Restoration|restoration]] of the monarchy and remains in use to this day.

===Modern usage===

[[File:StateLibQld 1 205460 Church decorations in Vulture Street, South Brisbane for the royal visit in 1954.jpg|thumb|left|Church decorations in Vulture Street, South Brisbane for the royal visit, 1954]]

In his capacity as [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|King of the United Kingdom]], [[Charles III]] is [[Royal and noble styles|styled]] "Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], Defender of the Faith". The title "Defender of the Faith" reflects the Sovereign's position as the [[supreme governor of the Church of England]]. The original Latin phrase {{Lang|la|Fidei Defensor}} is represented on all current [[British coinage|British coins]] by the abbreviations '''<small>F D</small>''' or '''<small>FID DEF</small>'''. This notation was first added to British coins in 1714, during the reign of King [[George I of Great Britain|George I]]. The decision of the [[Royal Mint]] to omit this and certain other parts of the monarch's style from the "[[Florin (British coin)|Godless Florin]]" in 1849 caused such a scandal that the coin was replaced.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qns.org.au/Articles/SWA_Agnostic/SWA_Agnostic.htm |title=Agnostic Coinage |author=Stephen Appleton |publisher=Queensland Numismatic Society |date=September 2001 |access-date=2007-08-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829052932/http://qns.org.au/Articles/SWA_Agnostic/SWA_Agnostic.htm |archive-date=2007-08-29 }}</ref>

In most [[Commonwealth realm]]s, the phrase does not appear in the Monarch's full style, though the initial "[[By the Grace of God]]" is maintained. For example, in [[Australia]], King Charles is currently styled "by the Grace of God, King of Australia and His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth". He is additionally styled "Defender of the Faith" only in [[New Zealand]] and the UK. [[Canada]] had initially chosen to include the phrase, not because the sovereign is regarded as the protector of the state religion (Canada has none), but as a defender of faith in general. In a speech to the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] in [[1953 in Canada|1953]], [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Louis St. Laurent]] stated:

{{quote |text=The rather more delicate question arose about the retention of the words, "Defender of the Faith". In England there is an established church. In our countries [the other monarchies of the Commonwealth] there are no established churches, but in our countries there are people who have faith in the direction of human affairs by an all-wise providence, and we felt that it was a good thing that the civil authorities would proclaim that their organisation is such that it is a defence of the continued beliefs in a supreme power that orders the affairs of mere men, and that there could be no reasonable objection from anyone who believed in the Supreme Being in having the sovereign, the head of the civil authority, described as a believer in and a defender of the faith in a supreme ruler. |author=Louis St. Laurent}}{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

However, the style used on Canadian coinage is simply D.G. Rex ({{Lang|la|Dei Gratia Rex}}, "By the Grace of God, King").

In Australia, the monarch held the title "Defender of the Faith" until 1973, when it was formally removed. (The words "by the Grace of God" were retained, however.)<ref>Williams, Roy (2013). ''In God They Trust?''. p. 168. Canberra: Bible Society Australia.</ref>

At various times, some countries of the Commonwealth retained the title until they formally became republics, e.g. [[South Africa]] from 29 May 1953. Others dropped it while still a dominion of the Commonwealth: e.g. [[Dominion of Pakistan|Pakistan]] dropped the title in 1953 in recognition of the contradiction between its population being overwhelmingly [[Islam|Muslim]] and having a monarch who was a defender of the [[Christianity|Christian]] faith.

King Charles III, when still [[Prince of Wales|heir apparent]], expressed a preference to change the spirit of this role should he succeed to the throne as expected. He commented in 1994: "I personally would rather see [my future role] as Defender of Faith, not ''the'' Faith"; however, he clarified in 2015 that "while at the same time being Defender of the Faith you can also be protector of faiths".<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/the-prince-of-wales/promoting-and-protecting/faith
| title=Faith
| website=The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall
| publisher=princeofwales.gov.uk
| access-date=1 November 2016
}}
</ref>

In the spring of 2023, the Canadian government introduced a bill to change the title of the [[Monarchy of Canada|Canadian sovereign]] by dropping the reference to the United Kingdom and the phrase "Defender of the Faith".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-kings-canadian-title-dropping-defender-of-the-faith-is-break-with/|title=King's Canadian title – dropping defender of the faith – is break with tradition: Church figures, constitutional experts
|work=The Globe and Mail|first=Marie|last=Woolf|date=19 April 2023|access-date=19 April 2023}}</ref> The bill was approved by parliament and given [[royal assent]] on 22 June 2023;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/en/bill/44-1/C-47|title=Royal Style and Titles Act, 2023 (Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, Part 4, Division 31{{mdash}}section 510)|website=LEGISinfo|date=22 June 2023|access-date=8 February 2024}}</ref> however, the new style and title did not become operative until the King issued a proclamation on 8 January 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Proclamation Establishing for Canada the Royal Style and Titles: SI/2024-4, dated January 8, 2024 |url=https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2024/2024-01-31/html/si-tr4-eng.html}}</ref> The Canadian title is now:
:Charles the Third, by the Grace of God King of Canada and His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth./Charles Trois, par la grâce de Dieu, Roi du Canada et de ses autres royaumes et territoires, Chef du Commonwealth.<ref>Royal Style and Titles Act, 2023, section 2.</ref>