A conspiracy theorist has claimed Queen Elizabeth II1 rejoined the Anglican and Catholic churches in 2010 by signing the "Holyrood Agreement" with Pope Benedict XVI2.
The claim is false. A church historian and representatives from both churches told AAP FactCheck there is no such agreement, calling it a fantasy and a hoax.
The claim is made in a Facebook video (screenshot here3) featuring Canadian author and former Protestant4 minister Kevin Annett5 from October 10.
He states: "One thing that the Queen did in 2010, she signed what's called the Holyrood Agreement with Pope Benedict, who was subsequently forced out, but that agreement set out the terms for the Anglican church to go back into the church of Rome, which was a violation of her coronation oath6. But it also meant that really after 2010 those two churches are one and the same" (video mark 2 min).
Queen Elizabeth II met the Pope7 at the Palace of Holyroodhouse8 in Edinburgh in 2010, but AAP FactCheck could not find any reports of an agreement associated with the meeting.
All references to the supposed Holyrood Agreement appear primarily on conspiracy theory blogs and mention Annett's name, as seen here9, here10, and here11.
Diarmaid MacCulloch12, Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford, told AAP FactCheck the claim is "sheer fantasy".
"I know of no such agreement," Professor MacCulloch said in an email.
"In 2010 the late Queen and Pope Benedict made appropriate and uncontroversial speeches to each other at Holyrood, easily available online, and that was it."
Anglican and Catholic church representative also told AAP FactCheck the claim is false.
"There is no truth whatsoever to these claims from the internet," a Church of England13 representative said in an email.
The Anglican Church of Australia14 also said the claim is fanciful.
"I am happy to confirm the story is not correct in any aspect and if such a treaty were signed it would have no effect without legislation passed in the Parliament of the UK," a representative said in an email
A spokesman from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference15 said: "You can safely take it that this is a hoax."
He compared the claim to conspiracy theories about the moon landings16 and 9-11 terror attacks17.
The Church of England18 became the mother church of the Anglican Communion19 after the Reformation20 in the 16th century, when it broke with the Roman Catholic Church21 under King Henry VIII22.
The two churches have been separate ever since, but have been in dialogue through the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission23 since 1967.
Annett is a former United Church of Canada24 minister who was removed from the ministry in 1997 after spreading conspiracy theories25. He brands himself26 as a whistleblower, but has become a continued source of misinformation.
AAP FactCheck previously debunked27 his claim a court issued arrest warrants and sentenced the Queen, Pope Francis28 and other notable figures for crimes against humanity.
Annett recently claimed King Charles29 has been summoned to appear before an international tribunal30 for crimes against humanity, which has also been debunked31.
False – The claim is inaccurate.
AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network32. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
