There were great celebrations here four years ago for the 400th anniversary of the Union of the Crowns, when Scotland's King James VI became monarch of England as well.

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As well as being the head of state, the British monarch is governor of the Church of England.

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The Labour MP Chris Bryant has an amendment down to remove the section that allows the monarch to approve the marriage of the first six people in the line of succession - and various amendments on questions like appointing a regent as head of the Church of England, if the monarch is not a member, are still on the order paper.

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Dr Peyton, who worked within the Church of England before becoming the Bishop of Brechin, said "being a priest is like being a monarch, as you can't resign and your job is your life".

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According to recent media reports, the Prince of Wales - while backing the end to male primogeniture (the principle that males take precedence in the royal succession) - has expressed concerns to officials about "unintended consequences" which could affect the monarch's role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

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In 1683, George II, king of England 1727-1760 and the last British monarch to take part in a battle (Dettingen, 1743), born.

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The monarch is also head of the armed forces, supreme governor of the Church of England, head of state of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth countries.

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Non-conformists resented the fact that, as Holly Brewer of the University of Maryland has noted, the monarch in some ways had more sway over American Anglicans than he did over the Church of England.

ECONOMIST: Religion in America