Defender of the Faith: Origins of the Title Given to British Monarchs

Queen Elizabeth II holds many titles and privileges due to her rank and position. One of these titles is "Defender of the Faith". But what does this really mean?

The back of all British coins bear the title of Fidei Defensor, which is translated as "Defender of the Faith" from the Latin into English. But it is shortened to Fid Def or simply F.D. It is easy to overlook this detail when dealing with British currency. To find out what this means, we need to go back in time to the 1520s when King Henry VIII was sitting on the English throne.

Henry VIII is commonly remembered for the extraordinary fact that he had six wives and for his public breach with the Roman Catholic Church when the Pope refused to grant him a divorce from his first queen, Catherine of Aragon. But what many do not know about Henry VIII is that he was a very pious and loyal member of the church in his youth.

Pope Leo X opposed any dissent and calls for reform within the Catholic Church and was therefore furious with Martin Luther when he publicly denounced the Catholic Church for its abuses and extravagance. In January 1520, Martin Luther was condemned and later excommunicated by the Catholic Church. Leo X was pleased to find a young, vocal ally in Henry VIII. The king, along with his trusted adviser, Sir Thomas More, penned Declaration of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther. While there has been some doubt as to who actually wrote this denunciation against Martin Luther, there is every reason to believe that Henry VIII wrote it himself.

Henry VIII's reward for showing himself a loyal son of the Roman Catholic Church was to be given the title "Defender of the Faith" in 1521. If Leo X had lived to see how Henry VIII turned against the Catholic Church in the 1530s he might not have been so willing to confer this title!

Ironically, England and later on the UK, did not remain a Roman Catholic country, and it is therefore no longer defending the ancient Catholic faith. The UK is now officially run by the Church of England with the Queen as Supreme Governor of the Church, a Protestant religion that had its seeds sown in the 1530s during the English Reformation. However, each successive Protestant monarch still holds the title "Defender of the Faith".