In 1974 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey announced his forthcoming retirement. His successor was the Archbishop of York, Donald Coggan, an evangelical. In view of the church's tradition of balance it was widely expected that Coggan's successor at York would be a higher churchman. The two candidates most tipped were Robert Runcie (Bishop of St Albans) and Kenneth Woollcombe (Bishop of Oxford). There was a long delay in making the appointment, and it was rumoured that at least three bishops had declined the post. "The Times" later named one of them as Runcie. The offer of the archbishopric to Blanch came as a surprise to him. He said that the Prime Minister's invitation "came in one of those plain white envelopes that you open with caution. I am only now beginning to get over the shock." He told the press that he found the prospect daunting because he was at a loss with high formality, was not well up on central church administration and had not much political experience.