Justin Welby (67) is the man who gave birth to King Charles III on May 6th. (74) puts on the Edwardian crown in Westminster Abbey. The Archbishop of Canterbury will lead the coronation service and has been close to the royal family for years. In several private meetings, Welby is said to have spoken to Charles about the importance of the elements of the special service, according to the Times.
The archbishop is also said to be very close to Prince Harry (38). As reported by “The Telegraph”, Charles hoped that Welby, who married Harry and his wife Duchess Meghan (41) in 2018, could mediate in the family dispute. The Sussexes had made serious allegations against the royal family in a Netflix documentary and in Harry’s autobiography Reserve. Since then, Prince Harry’s brother in particular, heir to the throne Prince William (40), is said to have had a bad time with the couple. It is not known whether Welby was really able to mediate. At least Prince Harry will now, apparently after a long back and forth, come to the coronation. Duchess Meghan stays in California with the two children.
But it wasn’t just in Charles’ family that there was excitement ahead of the big Coronation Day. The Archbishop of Canterbury revealed he was having “nightmares” about the ceremony. During an interview with Channel 4 News, Welby said he dreamed of accidentally leaving the crown at his London residence, Lambeth Palace. He added: “But it’s just a tremendous honor and privilege to do that and Coronation weekend will be a time to bring the country together.”
The fact that Welby would one day crown the new monarch was not something he was born with. The churchman was on other paths before his career in the Church of England…
Justin Welby was born in 1956. His mother, Jane, was personal secretary to Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) from 1949 until her marriage to Gavin Welby in April 1955. Justin Welby’s father, Gavin, a businessman, ran for general election in 1951 and 1955.
His parents, both of whom were alcoholics, divorced when Welby was a toddler. In 1960, Gavin Welby was said to be engaged to actress Vanessa Redgrave (86), who broke the relationship because her mother had concerns. Justin Welby’s mother, who had not drunk since 1968, married Charles Williams, a businessman and first-class cricketer who was made a life peer in 1985, in 1975. He apparently had a great influence on his stepson’s career.
Justin Welby’s biological father would later turn out to be someone else: In 2016, the Archbishop of Canterbury described his “utter surprise” to find out that his father is not Gavin Welby as he had always believed. A paternity test revealed he is the son of Winston Churchill’s former private secretary, Sir Anthony Montague Browne (1923-2013). His mother had a brief relationship with Gavin Welby prior to her marriage.
Justin Welby attended Eton College, as did Prince William and Prince Harry, among others. Later he was at Trinity College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Law. In Cambridge he is said to have found a deep religiosity. Nevertheless, Welby initially made a career in business. He worked in the oil industry for eleven years, including in managerial positions. It was only in 1989 that he followed his calling.
From 1989 to 1992 Welby studied theology, completed a priesthood training and was later appointed Bishop of Durham, in 2013 he became Archbishop of Canterbury.
Welby also met his wife Caroline in Cambridge. The couple had six children. In 1983, their seven-month-old daughter, Johanna, died in a car accident in France. Welby once explained, “It was a very dark time for my wife Caroline and I, but in a strange way it brought us closer to God.”
On May 6th at Westminster Abbey, Welby will now have perhaps his most important engagement. In the official coronation souvenir booklet, he wrote in advance that the moment when King Charles was anointed during the coronation ceremony would be a moment of “silence and simplicity”. The Archbishop of Canterbury added that this is “the only part of the ceremony that the public will not see”. Welby also revealed that the king will swap his lavish robes for a plain white shirt for the anointing. This means that the monarch comes before God as a servant, “with the full knowledge that the task is difficult and that he needs help”.
Welby continues: “Knowing fully that even as king he is a man of the people and that, while he has a special role to play, he shares our human frailties and vulnerabilities”. Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) also allowed herself to be shielded during the anointing.
