The week in which Donald J Trump posted a picture of himself kitted out as Jesus healing the sick – then, after something of an uproar, deleted it.
From which point, events went further downhill for the “Christian Nationalism” of the Republicans. On which we make no comment other than to refer readers to Harold Macmillan’s dictum: “There are three bodies no sensible man directly challenges: the Roman Catholic Church, the Brigade of Guards and the National Union of Mineworkers”.
Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly
On Wednesday, the Government announced that the King has approved the reappointment of Lady Elish Angiolini LT DBE KC as HM’s Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Places of Worship Renewal Fund: England
In answer to an Oral Question from Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, Lab), the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha De Cordova, said this:
“The new places of worship renewal fund will be managed by Historic England on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The fund totals £92 million over four years and will support capital repairs to listed places of worship. Priority will be given to buildings in areas of high deprivation or community need. Applications are expected to start with an expression of interest, followed by a full application, with efforts made to minimise administrative burdens on smaller parishes…
… We are still waiting for the Government to publish more detail on this vital scheme. As I said in my meeting with the Minister, I urge the Government to get on and publish that detail at pace so that we can give our churches certainty” [emphasis added].
And so does everyone else.
Places of Worship Renewal Fund: Northern Ireland
In answer to a Written Question from Robert Swann (South Antrim, UUP) asking how much funding has been allocated through the Places of Worship Renewal Fund to places of worship in Northern Ireland, Ian Murray, Minister of State at DCMS, said this:
“The Places of Worship Renewal Fund is England only as Heritage is a devolved policy area. The Northern Ireland Government received Barnett consequentials at the Spending Review, taking into account any changes to DCMS’ overall settlement. It is for the Northern Ireland government to consider whether to set up new arrangements should they so wish.
We are working closely with other funders in the sector to ensure that opportunities for funding places of worship throughout the UK are maximised. The National Lottery Heritage Fund already offers grants for places of worship across all the UK and is currently investing £100m over 3 years through National Lottery Heritage Grants and a strategic initiative designed to provide targeted support to build capacity.”
In other words, “Ask the Northern Ireland Executive”.
Same-sex marriage and the Church in Wales
On Thursday, the Governing Body of the Church in Wales voted to make permanent its liturgy for the blessing of same-sex marriages and civil partnerships, which had been trialled for the past five years, by incorporating it into the Church’s Book of Common Prayer.
The voting on the motion, which required a two-thirds majority, was Bishops, unanimous, Clergy 32-7, with 5 abstentions, and Laity 48-8, with 2 abstentions.
On 17 April 2026, Manx Radio reported “UK Government ‘unable to recommend Assisted Dying Bill for Royal Assent’ at this time“. Tynwald became the first parliament in the British Isles to pass assisted dying legislation, approving the Bill in March 2025. As a Crown Dependency, for primary legislation on the Isle of Man to get Royal Assent and therefore become law, the Lord Chancellor, David Lammy, is required to make a recommendation that it should do so.
The Ministry of Justice had sought clarity on the arrangements for monitoring assisted deaths, safeguards against coercion and ensuring that individuals have capacity to make decisions. It says that while the Manx Government provided comprehensive assurances and commitments that would mitigate the legal risk significantly, these do not form part of the bill. It is therefore the UK Government’s view that these matters must be addressed in order for the bill to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.
While the Ministry is unable to recommend the bill for Royal Assent at this time, it says that this should not be interpreted as disallowing Royal Assent, but rather reflects the need to ensure that the legislation contains the necessary protections.
St George’s Day, 23 April
In an article in the Church Times, Martyn Snow, Bishop of Leicester, said that English churches should fly the flag of St George and the patron saint’s day used to foster a healthy kind of patriotism. Various urban myths have developed about the flying of flags from churches, which is unsurprising given the lack of consistency in the available advice. This was reviewed in our post Flags and flagpoles: Church of England (2022), which notes that the CofE ChurchCare (2021) states that “The Earl Marshal’s Warrant (of 1938) had the approval of the Archbishops of the day, but it does not make it compulsory for the flag to be flown. Unfortunately, other extant CofE guidance is contradictory.
Bitesize Ecclesiastical Law
Upcoming sessions in the Ecclesiastical Law Society series:
- Bitesize Ecclesiastical Law #15 on “What is an Archbishop?” with Louise Connacher, Registrar of the Province and Diocese of York and the Diocese of Sodor and Man, 21 April, 5.30-6.00 pm.
- Bitesize Ecclesiastical Law #16 “What is a licence?” with Kirsty Duxbury, Diocesan Registrar, Anthony Collins Solicitors, 12 May, 5.30-6.00 pm.
- Bitesize Ecclesiastical Law #17 “What is the General Synod?” with Jenny Jacobs, Clerk to the Synod, 16 June 5.30-6.00 pm.
And finally…
Our LLM colleague and friend, Bishop Paul Colton, of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, is formally retiring this weekend. In 2025, he said that his last public service in the diocese would be on Saturday, 18 April 2026, at which time he would lay down his crozier in Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork. The twenty–seventh anniversary of Paul’s election was on 25 March 2026, when he embarked on his twenty–eighth year. a longer tenure as Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross than anyone else since the first Reformation bishop died in 1617, and the second longest ever. For several years he has been the longest-serving Anglican diocesan bishop still in office in Great Britain and Ireland.
Thanks for this, Frank. When was the last time a bill passed by a legislature under the Crown failed to be given Royal Assent?
On 11 March 1708, Queen Anne withheld royal assent on the Scottish Militia Bill 1708 on the advice of her ministers for fear that the proposed militia would be disloyal.
The most recent example of which I’m aware is the Belgian one in 1990, when King Baudouin advised his cabinet that he could not, as a matter of conscience, sign in to law a bill decriminalising abortion. The Council of Ministers, at the King’s request, then declared Baudouin incapable of exercising his powers, in accordance with the Constitution. The Council of Ministers then assumed his powers and assented to the bill. On the following day, a joint meeting of both Houses of Parliament declared the King capable of exercising his powers, and he resumed them.
Thanks for this, David and Frank. I meant under the British Crown, even if in its incarnation as ‘The Lord of Man’, ‘Duke of Normandy’ etc. — has there been an occasion since 1708 before now when that Crown didn’t give timely assent to a bill passed by the relevant legislature?
Frank is really the expert on this, so I asked Microsoft Copilot. In summary, its answer was:
– Since Queen Anne’s veto of the Scottish Militia Bill in 1708, there has been no other occasion in the UK where the Crown failed to give timely Royal Assent to a bill duly passed by the relevant legislature;
Whether, after 1708, the monarch (or the Crown acting through Letters Patent for devolved legislatures) has ever:
– Withheld Royal Assent, or
– Failed to give it within the expected constitutional timeframe,
– In any UK legislature (Westminster, Holyrood, Senedd, Stormont, or for Church of England Measures).
The answer remains no across all these categories.
Royal Assent for Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish legislation is given by Letters Patent under the relevant Great Seal, but still in the name of the monarch.
– No bill passed by Holyrood, the Senedd, or Stormont has ever been denied Royal Assent by the Crown.
– The only modern “veto like” event was the Section 35 order blocking the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill in 2023—but this was not a refusal of Royal Assent by the monarch. It was an executive veto by the Secretary of State for Scotland under statute.
Thus it does not count as the Crown withholding assent.
The sources of reference used are Wikipedia for the Scottish Militia Bill and the House of Commons Library for Royal Assent.
Thanks very much, David. I have taken inspiration from you and asked Grok about the other jurisdictions under the Crown in some incarnation. It says: The most recent instance was in 2007: the initial version of the constitutional reform bill (updating the Chief Pleas, Sark’s legislature) passed by the Chief Pleas of Sark (in the Bailiwick of Guernsey).
The UK Justice Secretary (then Jack Straw, acting for the Crown via the Privy Council process used for Channel Islands legislation) declined to recommend royal assent. The stated reason was that the bill was “inconsistent with basic democratic principles” (including aspects of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the UK is bound and for which it has responsibility over the Crown Dependencies). A revised version of the reforms was later passed by Chief Pleas and received the equivalent of royal assent in 2008 as the Reform (Sark) Law 2008.