Queen Elizabeth Thaws Catholic Relations
 
 
LONDON, Oct. 30, 2006 (people.monstersandcritics.com)  -  Britain's Queen Elizabeth has made a move to thaw relations between the royal family and the Roman Catholic Church.

In a private letter obtained by Britain's Daily Mail newspaper to Catholic convert Lord Nicholas Windsor, the queen told him she was "delighted" and "very pleased" about his forthcoming marriage to British-born Croat Paola Frankopan.

Last month the queen granted permission for Lord Nicholas, son of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, to marry at the Vatican in Rome, the first member of the British Royal Family to do so for 400 years.

Her majesty has also agreed to attend a reception for the Catholic union at St James' Palace, to be held in January 2007. Prince Charles will also attend along with other members of the royal family.

Under current law the heir to the British throne is unable to marry a Catholic, after King Henry VIII declared himself head of the Church of England in order to divorce his first wife.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has said that barriers between the royals and the religion are beginning to fall, and the queen's blessing to her cousin's marriage is a clear indicator.