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Prince Andrew is ‘seeking to make amends’ and should be forgiven following the sex abuse scandal, the Archbishop of Canterbury has suggested.
Most Reverend Justin Welby says he thinks it’s a ‘very good thing’ that the shamed Royal is trying to make up for his role in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal.
Speaking on ITV tonight, the Archbishop said he felt people should try to forgive the Duke of York, and that everyone should ‘step back a bit’.
It comes after the Queen’s eldest son was implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal, with claims he had sex with a 17-year-old girl who had been trafficked by the paedophile billionaire.
He eventually paid his accuser, Virginia Guiffre, £12 million in a settlement that stopped it ending up in court.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, pictured here shaking hands with Prince Andrew, has suggested the Duke of York be forgiven
Prince Andrew had been accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl who had been trafficked by paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein (pictured)
Archbishop Justin Welby, in an interview with ITV News presenter Tom Bradby, said: ‘Forgiveness really does matter. I think we have become a very, very unforgiving society. There’s a difference between consequences and forgiveness.
‘I think for all of us, one of the ways that we celebrate when we come together is in learning to be a more open and forgiving society.
‘Now with Prince Andrew, I think we all have to step back a bit. He’s seeking to make amends and I think that’s a very good thing.
‘But you can’t tell people how they’re to respond about this. And the issues of the past in the area of abuse are so intensely personal and private for so many people.
‘It’s not surprising. There’s very deep feelings, indeed.’
The Archbishop himself, who had been due to preach at the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, has pulled out while he deals with Covid and pneumonia.
The comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury, pictured, came days before the start of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations
Shamed Royal, Prince Andrew (pictured), is ‘trying to make amends’ after being involved in a sex scandal, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said
The intervention by the Archbishop comes days before the celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, during which Prince Andrew will not be as visible alongside other senior Royals.
The 62-year-old will take part in the ceremony at Windsor Castle on June 13 alongside other senior royals for what is one of the most important ceremonies in the Royal calendar.
His name will also appear in the next day’s Court Circular, and will attend Garter Day ceremonies as a Royal Knight.
The annual iconic Garter Day procession, where The Queen and the Knights process in grand velvet robes, glistening insignia and plumed hats, is one of the most traditional ceremonies in the Queen’s calendar.
The Queen is sovereign of the Order and appoints Knights of the Garter without input from ministers, meaning that Prince Andrew’s appointment was considered as private.
There are now fears Andrew’s attendance at Garter Day celebrations could overshadow the event, especially after he was said to have agreed to step back from public life following the conclusion of the case.
Andrew is expected to appear alongside the Queen for Garter Day at Windsor Castle on June 13 despite the fallout of his sex abuse scandal and ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein (The Queen and Prince Andrew pictured 2019 at Trooping The Colour)
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew, center right, arrive for a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London, Tuesday, March 29, 2022
It comes after Prince Andrew signed a £12 million settlement ensuring claims by Virginia Guiffre that he had sex with her when she was 17 years old would not go to trial. This settlement was not an admission of guilt.
Andrew denied these allegations publicly, including taking part in a now-infamous interview with Emily Maitlis during which he claimed to have been at a Pizza Express in Woking on the night in question.
It comes after a source revealed last week that the disgraced Prince is working overtime to try and win back the trust of the Queen.
Speaking to The Mirror, they said he had been visiting his mother everyday in the build-up to the Jubilee celebrations.
They said: ‘He wants to make it up to the Queen which is why he is doing all he can to see her as much as possible.
‘The rest of the family, apart from Her Majesty, are united in feeling that he should stay out of the limelight and keep quiet having left such a stain on the family.’
The Prince has already been stripped of his royal patronages and honorary military titles.
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