THE CIVIL wedding of Prince Charles as future Supreme Governor of the Church of England has angered many. Some believe it will speed up the divorce of Church and State. PAUL EDDY asked the Bishop of Winchester, the Church's constitutional spokesman, for his response.

To the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, the union of Prince Charles to Mrs Parker Bowles in April 8 is "good for marriage, good for the monarch, and good that the Archbishop offered the assistance of the Church in the way he has done".

The bishop says: "I'm glad for the couple that they want to marry, and it's good for marriage in the sense that they are determined to do what Christians and other decent people want them to do if they want to be together.

"They are setting a sort of example, in the same way that they would set an example if they continued the relationship unmarried."

What if the future Supreme Governor of the CofE is a divorcee and remarries in a register office - albeit a special one at Windsor Guildhall?

"Re-marrying outside Church is a non-issue," says the bishop.

"The CofE's understanding in English law is that marriage is marriage. In law, what people commit themselves to in a register office is exactly the same as in church.

"The issue about the Supreme Governor also needs to be seen in context.

"For about 100 years, since the succession of Queen Victoria, the role has been symbolic, and it says as much about the monarchy and the government of the UK as it does about the Church's relationship to the monarch.

"It's a formal relationship. The Supreme Governor is not some sort of chief executive or even the Archbishop of Canterbury - he or she has no power over the Church.

"It's also worth remembering that, up until the end of the 18th century, there have been some very immoral monarchs, who were also Supreme Governor.

"So while I understand why people ask the question, I would remind them that, for this couple, like anyone else, repentance of the past and forgiveness is God's business, and no one else's."

From 1996 to 2002, the Bishop of Winchester led a national working party, which published pastoral criteria to be met by couples wanting to get remarried in church when one or both parties has previous partners still living.

Several of the criteria - especially those refusing marriage if such a union would bring about public outrage, or where the relationship between the new partnership was the reason for the previous marriage to fail - have been seen by many as specifically drafted to prevent Prince Charles remarrying in church.

The bishop says: "At our very first meeting in May 1996, I told the group that people would say we're working to find a way forward for Prince Charles but that, in my view, we were doing the work set us by General Synod. I can honestly say that the prince's situation had no influence on the group."

However, the group's final criteria, agreed by General Synod, made it impossible for Charles to remarry in church, instead forcing him to opt for a service of thanksgiving and dedication following a civil marriage.

"I'm sure that, if the prince was to be married in church, there would be a great deal more anxiety in the Church, among Christian people and society at large," says the bishop.

"The codes of practice which we recommended are used by priests - in this case the Archbishop of Canterbury himself - to explain to couples the boundaries within which a priest can remarry divorcees.

"When couples read these, many will find it unlikely that a priest will be able to marry them in church and, as a priest and couple work through the criteria, the priest makes the decision whether he or she can remarry them. If not, he or she may offer a service of prayer and dedication.

"I can honestly say that I do not know what conversations the archbishop had with the couple - that is a purely private matter between them, as it is between any couple and their priest.

"What I am sure, however, is that the archbishop will have used exactly the same advice and criteria that any priest will use in parishes across the country."

The bishop also expects the archbishop to follow his group's recommendation that a remarrying couple agree to marriage preparation.

"Today there are lots of hazards for marriages to overcome, and the church can offer help and support.

"I am confident the archbishop will be having those kind of conversations with the couple, but I am equally sure he will not be waving a flag saying that he is. He will no doubt offer what support, encouragement and preparation he can, as I am sure Her Majesty would expect of the archbishop."

In recent days, there has been some doubt as to whether the civil ceremony can go ahead. Civil weddings for members of the Royal family are illegal under the 1836 Marriage Act.

But government legal experts say the 1836 legislation was superseded by the 1949 Marriage Act, which does not specifically exclude royalty from civil marriages.

On April 8, following the private civil wedding, the couple and guests will go through to St George's Chapel for a church service, in which they will affirm their civil vows.

The archbishop will lead the service, which will include specially-written prayers of penitence asking God for forgiveness of previous weakness, calling on Him to "deliver us from judgement, and to bind up the wounds and revive us".

The bishop explains: "The service begins with an opportunity for the couple to say sorry before God.

"I see no reason, like some, for this couple to be put in some kind of pillory any more than the rest of us, and I reject some calls for them to commit to an act of public repentance for the past.

"The choice of such prayers will be worked through with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

"There will be a scripture reading and an address, and then an opportunity for the couple to affirm before God, and the public, the commitment they have just made.

"The archbishop will say a prayer of blessing over their rings - a never-ending symbol of marriage. He will then say prayers for the couple, their families and for the public responsibilities they hold."

The bishop believes that the wedding of the couple should be seen by all as a new start.

He says: "My hope and prayer is that they will make a good marriage, and will give a wholesome example of marriage to their children. It's time for everyone to look to the present and future, and not to the past."