From St Augustine in the sixth century to Rowan Williams in the twenty-first, the archbishops of Canterbury have provided leadership for the English Church. Those called to the office have included saints and scholars, men of faith and men of action. More than a hundred archbishops of Canterbury have offered spiritual leadership and political influence, whether in co-operation with the secular power or as its critics. Royal dynasties have come and gone, but the succession of the Canterbury primates has provided a remarkably continuous thread running through the history of England.

The Mitre and the Crown draws upon a wealth of recent scholarly literature to relate the story of the archbishops against a backdrop of more than fourteen centuries of English ecclesiastical history. It examines the social and cultural experiences that shaped the holders of the archiepiscopal office, together with the personal talents they brought to the service of both Church and State.