An interview featuring the Archbishop of Canterbury due to be aired this evening sees him suggest that Prince Andrew should be forgiven for the sex abuse scandal he was embroiled in. He said the Duke was "seeking to make amends".
ITV News viewers will see Most Rev Justin Welby say "we all have to step back a bit" from the case. Virginia Guiffre made a claim against Andrew, 62, for damages, saying she was trafficked by paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, a minor under US law.
Andrew denied the allegations, but later agreed an out of court settlement. Such a settlement is not an admission of guilt, reports the Mirror. The Duke has been excluded from the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The Archbishop, 66, said: “At a big public occasion the Queen is fully entitled to have one of her children supporting her. 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.”
When the Guiffre case looked as though it could be headed for trial, Andrew was stripped of his royal patronages and honorary military titles. He also prevented from using the style HRH amid growing calls to banish him from royal life.
The Archbishop of Canterbury's comments come a day after he pulled out of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee service as he battles Covid and pneumonia. He will no longer preach at the Service of Thanksgiving for the monarch's reign at St Paul's Cathedral on Friday.
The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell will take Most Rev Justin Welby's place at the service. Last week, the Mirror revealed Andrew is visiting the Queen every day in a bid to make amends for his sex abuse scandal disgrace.
He making daily visits to his mother at her Windsor Castle home after being dramatically snubbed from the Jubilee celebrations.
A royal source said: “Andrew is doing all he can to make amends for the shame he brought on his family for being involved in such a scandal. 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.”
According to the new book Prince William at 40, the Duke of Cambridge has "cut off all contact" with Prince Andrew and told the Queen to strip him of his military titles and patronages.
