A COUNTRY rector from North Yorkshire is to be made a Chaplain to the Queen and a member of the Royal household.
At a rare ceremony at Buckingham Palace next month, the Queen will present Canon Richard Cooper, the Rector of Richmond, with a Royal Warrant.
The document will enrol him into the 36-strong College of Royal Chaplains, which is attached to the Chapel Royal of St James' Palace.
Canon Cooper, 57, will join the ancient Rota of Waits - chaplains in the Royal household who take it in turns to preach at state occasions and services attended by the Queen and the Royal Family, and who wear distinctive scarlet cassocks.
He said the accolade was a great honour and had come as a complete surprise.
He said: "It is an honour, too, for Richmond because of its history, its ancient guilds and its many associations with the Crown."
The honour of being chosen as a Chaplain to the Queen is seen as a mark of respect and recognition for senior clergy.
Canon Cooper's name was put forward by the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Right Reverend John Packer.
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