Supreme Governor of the Church of England
The supreme governor of the Church of England is the titular head of the Church of England, a position which is vested in the British monarch. Although the monarch's authority over the Church of England is largely ceremonial and is mostly observed in a symbolic capacity, the position is still very relevant to the church. As the supreme governor, the monarch formally appoints high-ranking members of the church on the advice of the prime minister of the United Kingdom, who is in turn advised by church leaders.
History
By 1536, King Henry VIII of England had broken with the Holy See, seized assets of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and declared the Church of England as the established church with himself as its supreme head. The Act of Supremacy 1534 confirmed the King's status as having supremacy over the church and required the peers to swear an oath recognising Henry's supremacy. Henry's daughter Mary I attempted to restore the English Church's allegiance to the pope and repealed the Act of Supremacy in 1555. Elizabeth I ascended to the throne in 1558 and the Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy 1558 which restored the original act. To placate critics, the Oath of Supremacy which peers were required to swear, gave the monarch's title as supreme governor rather than supreme head of the church. This wording avoided the charge that the monarchy was claiming divinity or usurping Christ, whom the Bible explicitly identifies as head of the Church."Defender of the Faith" has been part of the English monarch's title since Henry VIII was granted it by Pope Leo X in 1521 in recognition of Henry's role in opposing the Protestant Reformation. The pope withdrew the title, but it was later reconferred by Parliament in the reign of Edward VI.
Thirty-Nine Articles
The position of the monarch role is acknowledged in the preface to the Thirty-Nine Articles of 1562. It states that:Article 37 makes this claim to royal supremacy more explicit:
Church of Scotland
The British monarch vows to uphold the constitution of the Church of Scotland, but does not hold a leadership position in it. Nevertheless, the monarch appoints the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland as his or her personal representative, with a ceremonial role. The Queen on occasion has filled the role personally, as when she opened the General Assembly in 1977 and 2002.List of supreme governors
| Name | Years | Notes |
| Henry VIII of England | 1536–1547 | As supreme head. |
| Edward VI of England | 1547–1553 | As supreme head. With Thomas Cranmer, authorized the Book of Common Prayer. |
| Lady Jane Grey | 1553 | As supreme head. |
| Mary I of England and Philip | 1553/1554–1555 | As supreme head. Promoted the Catholic Reformation in England and Wales. |
| Elizabeth I of England | 1559–1603 | See Thirty-Nine Articles. |
| James I of England | 1603–1625 | Authorized the King James Version Bible. |
| Charles I of England | 1625–1649 | Martyr of the Church of England. |
| Interregnum | 1649–1660 | |
| Charles II of England | 1660–1685 | Converted to Catholicism on his death bed. |
| James II of England | 1685–1688 | Last Catholic to hold the position; he only held it as statutory authority. |
| Mary II of England | 1689–1694 | Reigned jointly with her husband William III. |
| William III of England | 1689–1702 | At first reigned jointly with Mary II, 1689–1694. Calvinist. |
| Anne of Great Britain | 1702–1714 | Married to Prince George of Denmark, a Lutheran. |
| George I | 1714–1727 | Lutheran Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. First Protestant in the line set forth by the Succession to the Crown Act 1707. |
| George II | 1727–1760 | Lutheran Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. |
| George III | 1760–1820 | Head of the Lutheran church in Hanover. |
| George IV | 1820–1830 | Catholic emancipation enacted by the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829. |
| William IV | 1830–1837 | |
| Victoria | 1837–1901 | The Church of Ireland became disestablished by the Irish Church Act 1869. |
| Edward VII | 1901–1910 | |
| George V | 1910–1936 | The Church in Wales became disestablished by the Welsh Church Act 1914. |
| Edward VIII | 1936 | Pressured to abdicate, formalised by the His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936. |
| George VI | 1936–1952 | |
| Elizabeth II | 1952–present |