Royal Peculiar - Definition and Overview

A Royal Peculiar is a place of worship that falls directly under the jurisdiction of the British monarch, rather than a diocese.

It dates to Anglo-Saxon times when a church could ally itself with the monarch and therefore not be subject to the bishopric of the area. Later it embodied the relationship between the Norman and Plantagenet Kings and the English church.

The present day Royal Peculiars are:

• St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle (The Queen's Free Chapel of St George in Windsor Castle)
• The Chapel Royal, St James's Palace
• The Queen's Chapel, St James's Palace
• The Chapel Royal, Hampton Court
• The Chapel of St John the Evangelist in the Tower of London
• The Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London
• The Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor
• The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy
• The Royal Foundation of St Katharine
• The Chapel of St Edward, King and Martyr, Cambridge
• The Palace of Holyrood
• The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster (Westminster Abbey)

See also

• Enclave

External links and references

• Diocese of London - Cathedral and Royal Peculiars (http://www.london.anglican.org/Cathedral)