Crossword Genius

Ill-fated priest's unexpected ally is crowned outside area (8,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cardinal wolsey

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'ill-fated priest's' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'unexpected ally is crowned outside area' is the wordplay.
'unexpected' indicates anagramming the letters.
'outside' indicates putting letters inside (some letters go outside others).
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'ally'+'is'+'crowned'='allyiscrowned'
'allyiscrowned' is an anagram of 'crdinalwolsey'.
'crdinalwolsey' going around 'a' is 'CARDINAL WOLSEY'.

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(Other definitions for cardinal wolsey that I've seen before include "Lord Chancellor" , "Shakespeare role" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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