THE DAUGHTER of the late Desmond Tutu has reportedly been prohibited from leading her godfather’s funeral by the Church of England because she is married to a woman.

Mpho Tutu van Furth, who is a practicing Anglican priest in the US, had been asked to officiate the funeral on Thursday in Shropshire, with the funeral, which the Guardian reports was planned to take place at Wentnor, near Bishops Castle.

In a statement carried by the BBC, the Diocese of Hereford said: “Advice was given in line with the House of Bishops current guidance on same-sex marriage.”

The Hereford Diocese is responsible for Church of England churches in Herefordshire, south Shropshire and some parishes in Worcestershire, Powys and Monmouthshire.

Ms Tutu van Furth reportedly told the broadcaster the decision “seemed really churlish and hurtful”.

The Church of England does not allow same-sex marriage in its clergy, but The Episcopal Church in the US – of which Ms Tutu van Furth is a part – does.

She had her licence rescinded in South Africa when she revealed her sexuality.

Her father, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist for racial justice and LGBT rights, died aged 90 in 2021.

Announcing the death, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said it was “another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa”.

An uncompromising foe of apartheid in South Africa, Tutu worked tirelessly and peacefully for its downfall.

The buoyant, blunt-spoken clergyman used his pulpit as the first black bishop of Johannesburg and later Archbishop of Cape Town as well as frequent public demonstrations to galvanise public opinion against racial inequity both at home and globally.