'Queen may be removed as head of Church of England'

London, Dec 18 (ANI): The Archbishop of Canterbury has sparked fury by saying that he could fully envisage a time when the Queen is removed as head of the Church of England.

During an interview with New Statesman magazine, Dr Rowan Williams, the principal leader of the Church, said he could see a day when the Church of England was "disestablished" - no longer officially sanctioned and supported by the government of the country and, ultimately, the Queen.

It has long been the established Church in England, and for centuries the monarch has constitutionally been its supreme governor, reports the Daily Express.

However, when the Archbishop was asked if he recognised the case for disestablishment, he said: "The answer's yes."

"Because I grew up in a disestablished Church, I spent 10 years working in a disestablished Church (the Church of Wales), and I can see that it's by no means the end of the world if the Establishment disappears.

"The strength of it is that the last vestiges of state sanction disappeared, so when you took a vote at the Welsh Synod, it didn't have to be nodded through by Parliament afterwards. There is a certain integrity to that," he added.

A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the Archbishop's comments. (ANI)