Why did Prince Charles and British Archbishop where yarmulkes?

Special ceremony yesterday crowned Britain's chief rabbi, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, with Prince Charles - who was wearing a yarmulke on his head in honor of the occasion.

Rabbi Mirvis replaced the Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks - who served for 22 years as the Chief Rabbi of England, an esteemed and intellectual figure.

The prestigious ceremony was held at St John's Wood Synagogue in London, attended by 1400 guests, including opposition leader Ed Miliband and the Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols also wore white yarmulkes, specially commissioned for the event.

One of the participants, who stood out, was heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, who appeared with a special yarmulke prepared for him. "This is the first time that a family of nobility participates in an event like this," noted the Jewish newspaper - the Jewish Chronicle.

Amongst congratulators, was British Prime Minister David Cameron, who sent congratulations to Mirvis on his new role and thanked the Chief Rabbi over his Twitter account. "Warm greetings to incoming Chief Rabbi Rabbi Mirvis and special thanks to Rabbi Sacks on all outstanding contributions to our country," he wrote.

Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, 57, was born in Cape Town, South Africa. As a young man he immigrated to Israel, where he studied at Yeshivat Kerem Yavne and Yeshivat Har Etzion. He then studied at the Institute of Ariel, where he was ordained. In addition to his Jewish studies he studied for a degree in education and Biblical Hebrew, from the University of South Africa. His teaching certificate was received at Herzog College. In addition he is an ordained slaughterer and mohel.

His current residence is in Finchley in Barnet, London. In 1982 he was appointed rabbi of Dublin congregations and in 1985 began serving as the chief rabbi of Ireland. In 1985-1992 he served as president of the Council of Christians and Jews in Ireland. At the end of his tenure in Ireland he served as senior rabbi of Finchley Synagogue, where he became a spiritual leader of the community.

During his first speech as Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Mirvis noted that the three main issues on which he would base his role are: promotion of Jewish education, construction and development of the Jewish communities, and encouraging adoption of social responsibility, such as the activities of "Tikkun Olam".

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!