Sales of a new edition of the Book of Common Prayer are being halted after it mistakenly stated that Charles III was the King of France and Ireland.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Cambridge University Press was instructed to publish new books reflecting the accession of the King.

But it appears that during the editing process, someone mistakenly replaced Elizabeth I's name with Charles III's in the ratification of the Thirty-Nine Articles, which dates back to 1571.

The error made King Charles the ruler of England, France and Ireland, and not Scotland or Wales. This was because the passage refers to Elizabeth I, who was the monarch at the time, and not Elizabeth II who died in 2022.

The previous version read: “Our Sovereign Lady ELIZABETH, by the grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith.”

The new version read: “Our Sovereign Lord CHARLES, by the grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith.”

A spokesman for Cambridge University Press told the Telegraph: “We will issue a new edition shortly to correct this mistake. We will provide replacements or refunds to anyone who would like one.”