Royal Wedding Prayers: Anglicans, Catholics Publish Official Blessings for Will and Kate

The Church of England has published a special prayer in anticipation of the wedding of Prince William to his fiancee, Kate Middleton.

The prayer is designed for use by groups and individuals who wish to bless the royal couple ahead of their impending nuptials. The prayer asks for God's help in strengthening the will of the couple so that they may keep their wedding vows and remain faithful to one another. (Scroll down for full text.)

Additionally, the Church has issued a prayer specifically intended for schoolchildren who wish to pray for the royal couple. This prayer forgoes the more mature subject of fidelity in favor of a generic wish for the couple's safety and happiness.

This sort of topical prayer is common practice for the Anglican Church, which has recently offered prayers in response to current events in Libya, Japan and New Zealand, as well as the global economic crisis.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales has also issued a special prayer for use around the time of the Royal Wedding, which is slated for April 29 at Westminster Abbey. The Catholic prayer strikes a broader tone, wishing the couple strength to serve God and country throughout their lives.

FULL TEXT OF THE ROYAL WEDDING PRAYERS:

Church of England Prayer ahead of the Royal Wedding

God of all grace,
friend and companion,
look in favour on William and Catherine
and all who are made one in marriage.
In your love deepen their love
and strengthen their wills
to keep the promises they will make,
that they may continue
in life-long faithfulness to each other; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Prayer for school children praying for the Royal Wedding

Dear Jesus,
we pray for Prince William and Catherine Middleton
as they get ready for their wedding day.
Keep them safe,
make them happy
and help them
to look after each other always.
Amen.

Catholic Bishops Conference Prayer for the Royal Wedding

Heavenly Father,
we ask your blessing
upon his Royal Highness, Prince William and Catherine
as they pledge their love for each other in marriage.
May your love unite them through their lives.
Grant them the strength to serve you, our country and the Commonwealth
with integrity and faithfulness.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen

Comments

[Vroomfondel]

03:56 AM on 04/10/2011

Hellooooo...welcome to the Church of England.... Cake or death?

[Markjohn Michalik]

08:47 PM on 04/08/2011

Dear God, Who cares?

[shelby4087]

07:47 PM on 04/08/2011

The Church of England usually has such elegant language in their prayers, the blessing of Prince William's marriage is a disappointment. This prayer sounds like infidelity is expected. How about blessing the nation and any offspring of the newly weds? After all, this is where Henry VIII hit the road causing the C of E to break with Rome.

[ablacks657]

07:30 PM on 04/08/2011

A Chrsitian's prayer is to be spoken directly to God the Father. No script, no written prayers, no direction on what to say -- it's spoken directly from the heart to God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son.

[shelby4087]

07:48 PM on 04/08/2011

This is your belief and I respect it. Please do the same for me.

[Leslie M Holland]

05:38 PM on 04/08/2011

Being Anglican myself I find the prayers quite lovely. What I don't remember is, is Kate Catholic or did she convert from Catholicism to the Church of England? Just curious because if I remember correctly there is an old law stating no queen of England or heirs of the King could be Catholic.

[Indigo1941]

07:24 AM on 04/08/2011

Very nice. Could we also have a look at the Druid Prayer?

[hfpf]

12:25 AM on 04/08/2011

I pray that William and Catherine actually have a good, loving, honest marriage without infidelities so that they might be role models to all the young people that look up to them. Now that would be a miracle!

[researcher]

07:39 PM on 04/07/2011

humans need kings and queens american has obama and his family.

not much has changed in several thousand years. new souls thing.

[DrakeUnlimited]

05:35 AM on 04/08/2011

that didn't even make sense.

[Markjohn Michalik]

08:49 PM on 04/08/2011

you need to learn how to speak and write.

[Whistlejackett]

07:20 PM on 04/07/2011

A note worthy notice.

anti Royals
anti Church
anti Joyous
Please go write in a more appropriate section, and be well and happy.

[DrakeUnlimited]

05:36 AM on 04/08/2011

Two out of those three things have been detrimental to freedom, and progress.

Read a history book princess.

[luv ya]

06:27 PM on 04/07/2011

Could you guys just get married already?
Please!

[Nick Rowley]

09:00 AM on 04/08/2011

It's like three weeks from now, it's hardly any time.

[LMPE]

06:15 PM on 04/07/2011

My prayers to them are:

Will: Can't your family give ANY money to charity?

Kate: Don't let the royalty thing go to your head.

[Godstuff]

05:57 PM on 04/07/2011

"The prayer asks for God's help in strengthening the will of the couple"

Kings, queens, prince, princess and royalty. Perfect, fairy tale beliefs, sky friends and mystical beings for a fairy tale wedding.

Praise Jesus and Allah Akbar

[OuterBanx North12]

04:23 PM on 04/07/2011

when is this wedding again? April 29th? OK, I'm going to pray I am nowhere near a television or any device broadcasting this thing.

[aguardianangel36]

05:14 PM on 04/08/2011

I feel the same way about the upcoming political "elections" and THAT is going to go on for a lot more than a day Maybe just one day of pure happiness will help...

[globyghost]

04:09 PM on 04/07/2011

Dear Huffpo,
There's a place called the Ivory Coast,
it's pretty newsworthy as well.
Look into it.

[MamaBird62]

04:30 PM on 04/07/2011

That is under the "world" section, this is the religion section.
Like most US-based media sources, HuffPo is not the best place for news about foreign affairs. I personally prefer the BBC, AFP, etc.