Lambeth Palace said the Queen, as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, has been informed.
Dr Williams will continue to carry out all the duties and responsibilities of the Archbishop of Canterbury, both for the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, until the end of the year, Lambeth Palace said.
The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) will consider “in due course” the selection of a successor.
It will be interesting to see who his successor is. Probably from the evangelical side, but will they go deep and pick a non-UK bishop? It worked pretty well for the RCs.