Who is Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury who will officiate the coronation of Charles III?

Preparations continue for one of the most anticipated events in recent English history: the coronation of Charles III. The ceremony, which will be attended by leaders and officials from around the world, will be officiated by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Who is Justin Welby?

Justin Welby, who turned 67 in January, making him seven years younger than King Charles, serves as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury, in a line that traces back 1,400 years to Augustine of Canterbury, who was sent from Rome in 597 AD. He was enthroned in Canterbury Cathedral on March 21, 2013, just over a decade ago.

In an intriguing turn of events, Welby’s upbringing led him to believe that his father was Gavin Bramhall James Welby. However, he discovered in 2016 that his biological father was actually Anthony Montague Browne, who served as former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s private secretary and passed away in 2013. His mother’s name was Jane Gillian Portal.

Welby attended Eton and Trinity College Cambridge before working in the oil industry. In 1989, he left his job and eventually became a priest in 1993, a decade after experiencing the loss of one of his children in a tragic car accident in France in 1983. Welby is married to Caroline Eaton, and they have six children. Prior to becoming Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013, he held the position of Bishop of Durham and experienced a rapid rise in his career within the Anglican Church.

What a day lies ahead for the man in the middle of proceedings in London...