The Archbishop of Canterbury has suggested shamed Prince Andrew should be forgiven for the sex abuse scandal - saying the Duke is "seeking to make amends and I think that's a very good thing".
In an interview with ITV tonight, Most Rev Justin Welby suggested "we all have to step back a bit" from the case which plunged the monarchy into one of its worst-ever crises.
In an astonishing intervention following the Duke of York’s disgrace, the holy man said it was a “good thing” Andrew was “seeking to make amends”.
He has risked the wrath of victims’ groups by saying "forgiveness really does matter" when asked how Brits should react to the Queen’s son, after he was forced to pay off his accuser £12million to stop the case going to trial.
The Archbishop is one of a small group of high-profile people to come out in support of humiliated Andrew, 62, in public.
The Archbishop's words fly in the face of the Palace's decision to exclude the disgraced Duke of York from the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Virginia Guiffre made the claim against Andrew 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 against him and he later came to an out of court settlement with his accuser. The settlement is not an admission of guilt.
The 66-year-old said in an interview with ITV News at 10 anchor Tom Bradby: “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.”
In a statement tonight the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “In tonight’s interview with ITV News I was asked a question about forgiveness, and I said that there is a difference between consequences and forgiveness.
"Both are essential elements of the Christian understanding of justice, mercy and reconciliation.
"I also made the broader point that I hope we can become a more forgiving society.
"These are complex issues that are difficult to address in a short media interview and I hope they do not distract from this week’s joyful celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.”
Prince Andrew always vehemently denied the allegations, even stating in a disastrous BBC Newsnight interview in November 2019 that he had “no recollection” of ever meeting Ms Giuffre despite a picture emerging of him with his hand round the teenager’s waist taken at the home of now convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell and her lover and Andrew’s former pal, convicted paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, trafficked numerous young girls round the world to be used as sex slaves including Ms Giuffre.
Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for further sickening crimes while Maxwell, 60, faced 50 years in jail following her conviction earlier this year for sex trafficking.
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.
Welby has previously appeared to defend Prince Andrew by saying "everyone makes mistakes".
In an interview with the Big Issue in 2019 after the Duke of York's catastrophic Newsnight appearance, but before he paid off Ms Guiffre, Welby said: “Everybody makes mistakes, everybody is human.
Speaking before the shamed royal had paid off his accuser and been forced to step back from royal life, Welby said: “I’m not commenting on any member of the royal family except to say that I am astonished at what a gift they are to this country.”
The Archbishop added how the royal family “serve in a way that is extraordinary in what is literally, for them, a life sentence”.
A spokesperson for the Archbishop of Canterbury regarding his interview with ITV News tonight said: “In his ITV News interview the Archbishop was not referring specifically to Prince Andrew when he said we must become a more forgiving society.
"He was making a broader point about the kind of society that he hopes the Platinum Jubilee inspires us to be.”
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.
