Lady Runcie, a life remembered
Lady Rosalind Runcie, the widow of Lord Robert Runcie the 102nd Archbishop of Canterbury died on Thursday. She was a remarkable woman who always struggled with her role as a clergy spouse and yet is said to have made an "important and vital contribution" to the life of the Church of England
Lady Runcie's obituary in the Telegraph is notable for its honesty and the delightful picture of the couple.
"She confessed that she was “not terribly religious”, famously remarking that “too much religion makes me go pop!” Sermons “switched her off”; she could not bear the sound of church bells; and she had little time for “running round the parish dispensing calves-foot jelly, whatever that is”.With a keen dislike for phoniness and pretence, Rosalind Runcie particularly dreaded having to accompany her husband to formal occasions, complaining that “lots of times they do not really want me there. I’m only there as a decoration. I resent having to go there, smiling.” She rarely accompanied Runcie on his weekend visits to the Old Palace in Canterbury, and travelled with him overseas only when she herself had been invited to perform as a concert pianist.
As their son James recalled: “When she met my father she was larky, jolly and vibrant, like a naughty girl in the sixth form. She didn’t have much time for saying the right thing, wearing the right thing and curtsying. She was keen to have her own private life and friends, where she could be herself. So there was a lot of physical separation.”
Her sense of humour was always irreverent. In the 1970s, when Runcie was Bishop of St Albans and the homosexual Labour MP Tom Driberg was employed by Private Eye as a compiler of obscene crosswords, it was noted that on one occasion the prize was won by a Mrs Rosalind Runcie of St Albans."
Clearly this was not the sort of clergy spouse who can be impersonated by a body double sitting pleasantly in the front pew.
A fine story about a very fine lady; but I couldn't resist the temptation to click on the body double feature. Could be worse, could be the rector sending a body double. But then again, would anybody catch on ( : ?
Posted by Rod Gillis![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 14, 2012 10:52 PM
@Rod: I suppose it depends on the dummy's preaching style. Some might leave the service saying, My, what a contemplative that priest is!
On the other hand, I'm not sure the dummy could get all the way through the Eucharist without tipping its hand.
Torey Lightcap
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January 15, 2012 7:17 AM
On the other hand, maybe the dummy could sing Marbecke while the real rector was drinking water ( :
Posted by Rod Gillis![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 15, 2012 4:23 PM
I may be engaging in wishful thinking, but I have a feeling that LarkNews (where you got that last hyperlink to the story about the pastor's wife hiring a double) is a spoof site. Hilarious, but a spoof.
At least, I hope so.
Meanwhile, I admire that Lady Runcie was her own person, and not just an adjunct of her husband. May she rest in peace.
Posted by Leslie Scoopmire![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 16, 2012 11:42 AM
I think you've got her title wrong.
If she was "Lady Rosalind Runcie," that would make her a Lady (as opposed to a lady) in her own right, or as the daughter of a peer.
She was Lady Runcie as the consort of Lord Runcie, or she was Rosalind Runcie - but not Lady Rosalind Runcie.
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January 17, 2012 2:12 AM