For the Prince of Wales, the debate around Sharia is beset with traps and on this occasion he has decided not to step into any of them.

Despite his widely quoted desire to become defender of faith — whatever religion it may stem from — he can still expect to inherit the more formal title of Defender of the Faith, awarded by the Pope to Henry VIII when he was still a Catholic and borne by every monarch since to signify their presence as Supreme Governor of the Protestant Church of England.

In a question-and-answer session after his lecture on Thursday, Dr Williams conceded that “Defender of the Faith” had a specific historic setting, adding: “And I don’t believe in reviews of historic titles on the hoof.”

But he said that a British monarch who took seriously the reality of corporate faith and the cohesion of society might think at some time in the future that a change of title was relevant.

Since the Prince made a keynote speech to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in 1993 he has preached the gospel of understanding between Christianity and Islam. He has never specifically advocated the use of Sharia in Britain, although he has ensured that his Prince’s Trust charity is Sharia-compliant when young Muslim entrepreneurs apply for grants. Two years ago he praised the London-based Islamic Development Bank for marketing Shariacompliant financial products.

In his 1993 speech, still regarded as a watershed in British understanding of its Muslim population, the Prince said: “People in this country frequently argue that Sharia is cruel, barbaric and unjust. Our newspapers, above all, love to peddle those unthinking prejudices. The truth is, of course, different and always more complex. My own understanding is that extremes are rarely practised.”

The Prince observed that understanding was a two-way process. “For the Muslims in our society there is the need to respect the history, culture and way of life of our country, and to balance their vital liberty to be themselves with an appreciation of the importance of integration in our society.”