Apparently, he hasn’t been there in about five years….

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/162065/Charles-to-make-spiritual-return

More recently an OCA priest in Canada (another Commonwealth Realm) wrote at http://www.orthodoxcanada.com/journal/2006-01-02.html:
“There are numerous indications that the Prince also receives the Holy Mysteries of Communion in the Orthodox Church, from the most strict monastic communities, which raises the question of whether in fact Prince Charles is actually Orthodox. Direct inquiries to those who serve as spokesmen for the Royal Family are met with demure silence: the royal method of avoiding a positive response to a complicated question.” (enphasis added)

A discussion I saw elsewhere on the WWW (some participants may have been in South Africa, in the Commonwealth but a republic since 1961) expressed the belief or pious hope for “a special corner of heaven” for persons kept from formal Orthodoxy by concerns of State, such as the Prince of Wales finds himself in.

For more details that seem knowledgeable, see http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/60685.

With all due respect to Fr. Andrew and others, I find it hard to believe that constitutional sticklers on the one hand, or (small-R!) republicans on the other (British, Irish, *or* Commonwealth), would have let a reversion from the Church of England (and that of Scotland simultaneously) on the part of Charles’ father, Prince Philip, take place without howls heard ’round the world. (I was under a rock in 1992, but at least there, I heard none!) Although it is commonly said that a Royal Spouse only must not be in communion with Rome, IIUC it is also required that s/he be in some form of communion with the English and Scottish State Churches. No such formal Communion is available in Canonical Orthodoxy at this time … though perhaps among one of the uncanonical groups? Or maybe Philip too is a catechumen, perhaps under the idea that when he left Orthodoxy to marry the Queen he “apostatized” in the ancient Orthodox definition of the term (ie, “left Orthodoxy”), meriting Baptism anew someday? I don’t know of a precedent for a Consort leaving the State Church since the ‘formalization’ of the Protestant Succession (as it is called), so I don’t know if doing so would automatically depose the Monarch in favor of the next in succession, or if other action would be required.

What I didn’t know is that Charles takes his sons on pilgrimage with him. They’re not kids anymore, so presumably there’s some element of free choice on their part too? Curiouser and curiouser, as I’m sure Fr. Geoffrey in Canada http://www.orthodoxcanada.com/index.html would agree.

(PS: Did you know that when you try to edit a Comment, the text in the box jumps around making it almost impossible to do so? If I didn’t know a thing or two about computers beyond the ordinary, I’d have never figured it out!)

I missed that completely (the dateline). I saw it on the Guardian this morning and took it from there assuming the article was new. Come to think of it, I saw it highlighted in a “related articles” box and just assumed the article was current. Sorry about that readers. Had I noticed the date, I would not have posted it. Still, the comments here were interesting.

I just saw the dateline – 2004 – and the shabby, gossipy writing. Removed the link from Facebook after I saw that.
The author hasn’t got a clue about Orthodoxy, or Orthodox monasticism. What kind of cretin would juxtapose “rugged spirituality” with “allowed to marry three times”?

No kidding, I came, in part, through Nietzche and new age cultism. Unfortunately, the philosophy behind the Green Patriarch is not too different. If Prince Charles is looking for the truth, that is what he will find. If not, he’ll keep hold of the lie.

God works in mysterious ways, Michael. The route I took to Orthodoxy wasn’t always pretty or laudable.

Fr, I stand corrected. I guess if he converted now he would be constitutionally ineligible for kingship. I assume in such an event that William would then be heir apparent (but i could be wrong, would HRH Andrew jump to first place?)

true. That’s why I’ve stated on more than one occasion that the first throne of Orthodoxy is (or should be) the patriarch of Jerusalem.

we’ll forego that one…

Aside from any personal spiritual concerns, it seems to me that the British Royalty have had a good deal of contact with Eastern Orthodoxy through various branches of the extended royal family, including the late Queen Marie of Romania, who was granddaughter of both Queen Victoria and Alexander II of Russia (and mother of Mother Alexandra, late Abbess of Transfiguration Monastery in PA).

Wikipedia’s article on Prince Charles also notes his long-term interest in Athos and Orthodoxy, as well as other religions.