If Charles and Diana Had Been Catholic…

Last updated on: February 3, 2015 at 7:51 am by Fr. Dwight Longenecker

If Charles and Diana Had Been Catholic… 2015-02-03T07:51:36-05:00 Fr. Dwight Longenecker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

…could their disastrous marriage have been declared invalid?

This article in today’s Daily Telegraph reports from a recent biography of Prince Charles that both he and Diana got cold feet the week before the big wedding.

The Prince of Wales was racked with such doubts about his doomed marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales that he told an aide on the eve of his wedding: “I can’t go through with it,” a new biography reveals.

Both the Prince and his young bride-to-be entertained thoughts of calling off the wedding because each knew that their relationship was deeply flawed.

While the then Lady Diana Spencer knew the Prince held a candle for Camilla Parker Bowles, her groom panicked that he was rushing into marriage with a girl he hardly knew.

Lady Diana later told her own biographer Andrew Morton that she confided in her sisters, telling them: “I can’t marry him, I can’t do this, this is absolutely unbelievable.”

They told her it was too late to pull out because “your face is [already] on the tea towels”.

But, says Mayer: “She had no idea her bridegroom also had to be coaxed to the altar.”

Another inside source told Prince Charles that if they had been Catholic they would have received a decree of nullity.

Which raises the question of annulments in the Catholic Church. These are often derided as “Catholic divorce” and cynics say that they are doled out to the highest bidder.

My experience of the annulment process is that it is very careful and considered. The marriage tribunals don’t do their work lightly. There are, doubtless, some abuses in the system and I expect wealthy and well connected people sometimes receive decrees of nullity more quickly than others.

What is an “annulment”? First of all, it is not properly an annulment. The Catholic Church does not annul a marriage. She declares that a marriage is null. In other words, the officials at the marriage tribunal examine a marriage to see if it was ever valid in the first place.

It is no good saying, “My husband beats me up every night” or “My wife is sleeping around with fifteen other men.” When it comes to deciding whether the marriage is valid or not, it doesn’t matter if your wife is a bad cook or your husband has joined a charismatic community church. It doesn’t even matter if your wife is an axe murderer or your husband the head of the Nazi party. The officials at the tribunal are not judging the the behavior of the spouses or the conditions in the marriage presently, but looking at the conditions on the day of the marriage.

Although the questions they ask are simple, the answers are often very complex.

The basic questions are, 1. Were these two people free to marry? If one or the other was married before, or if there are issues of consanguinity the answer may be “no” and the marriage is invalid. 2. Do both individuals understand what they are doing, and are they making a totally free choice in the matter? If not there is cause to suspect that the marriage may be invalid.

In the case of Charles and Diana, it now emerges that both of them were uncertain about the marriage. Both were pressured by family, by circumstances and by huge pressures much bigger than them. Diana’s sisters saying, “You have to go through with it, your pictures are on the tea towels” indicates the pressure she was under. The fact that Charles was already in a relationship with another woman that he allegedly had no intention of giving up is cause enough to question the validity of the marriage. Diana’s immaturity and psychological disorders would arguably have impeded a valid marriage from taking place. The huge pressure Charles, as heir to the throne was under to marry only a certain type of girl (a virginal English aristocrat) meant he was under extraordinary pressure from outside. The gigantic global media pressure on the two of them made things even worse. One doesn’t often feel sorry for royalty, but in this case you can’t help but pity the two of them. Free choice? There was not much choice at all.

The marriage of Charles and Diana is therefore an excellent illustration of the factors that cause many marriages to be declared null by the church. While their situation is magnified by their celebrity status and huge personal and societal pressures, there are many couples who enter marriage under similar and even more complex pressures.

Someone complained to a priest friend of mine recently about the large number of decrees of nullity being given. His answer was simple: “There are more decrees of nullity than ever before because there are more invalid marriages than ever before.”

I cannot disagree.

All the more reason to properly catechize and prepare our young people for marriage so that the marriages they enter are not just valid in a formal way, but abundant, full and fruitful expressions of God’s eternal love being poured in and through the beautiful sacrament of marriage.

Image via Bing

Uncategorized

Previous Post

February 1, 2015

Who Is the Pope?

Next Post

February 3, 2015 Francis and Benedict - Brothers in Arms

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anglican Matters Apologetics Architecture Blobble Study Book Reviews Brideshead Caitlin O'Rourke Catholic Art Catholic Culture Church Politics Chust for Nice Contemporary Culture Duane Mandible Ed Blanch Film Reviews Fr Harvey Nicolaitan Frank Viola Mantilla the Hon More Christianity Mrs Brady Catholic Old Lady Mystery of the Magi Norman Anderson Queen Hillary Saints and Supernatural Spirituality The Inklings The Vicar Theology Todd Unctuous Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz