Bishop of London tipped for top job

The Bishop of London, the Right Reverend Richard Chartres, is the overwhelming favourite to succeed Dr George Carey as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

With Dr Carey expected to announce within days that he will retire, speculation has been mounting as to the identity of his successor.

Bishop Chartres, 54, is known to be unimpressed by the Church of England's attempts to "modernise" and "market" the Christian message. He has stirred the forces of political correctness with his reluctance to ordain women priests, and has adopted a firm stance on homosexuality in the priesthood - arguing that, although it is not a sin in itself, the only two "life projects" open to a clergyman should be celibacy or marriage.

He threatened to resign last year if the Church of England closed any more of its churches in deprived, inner-city parts of London. He said that he would regard it as a "failure of personal leadership".

His own background is far removed from that of the high churchman he has become. He endured a troubled upbringing after his younger brother, Stephen, was born with brain damage. Stephen eventually died aged 27, having never lived independently, and Bishop Chartres later attributed the collapse of his parents' faith in God to the strain of caring for a desperately sick son.

The future bishop was not an active Christian but, as a teenager in the Sixties, felt an increasing sense of the presence of God and embarked on a tour of the various denominations of Christian churches. He enjoys a good relationship with the royal family and it was he who confirmed Prince William.

He is married to a freelance journalist and has four children. Despite his austere reputation he admits to enjoying Harry Potter books.