Senior Anglican minister apologises for urging Christians to pray for Prince George to be gay

The senior minister who said Christians should pray for Prince George to be gay has apologised.

Last week, Provost Kelvin Holdsworth tweeted a blog post in which he wrote that the four-year-old being gay would be “the fastest way” to get Church of England-officiated same-sex weddings.

TOPSHOT - Britain's Prince George (C) accompanied by Britain's Prince William (L), Duke of Cambridge arrives for his first day of school at Thomas's school where he is met by Helen Haslem (R) head of the lower school in southwest London on September 7, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / RICHARD POHLE (Photo credit should read RICHARD POHLE/AFP/Getty Images)

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The Scottish Episcopal Church clergyman suggested that Christians in England ask “for the Lord to bless Prince George with a love, when he grows up, of a fine young gentleman.”

In June, his Church – which is the Church of England’s sister institution – became the first mainstream branch of Christianity in the UK to allow same-sex weddings.

Provost Holdsworth (right) (Twitter/kelvin holdsworth)

His tweet introducing the blog post read: “My point about the fastest way to make the C of E more inclusive being to pray for Prince George to be blessed one day with the love of a fine young gentleman comes to mind at this time.”

It was posted last Tuesday – the day after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement.

(Twitter/thurible)

He has now said that he was “sorry” for an “ironic” comment made years ago.

The Provost’s comments sparked a fiery response from the Queen’s former chaplain, Rev Gavin Ashenden.

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Ashenden encouraged people to pray that the Prince grows up to marry a woman and avoid the “curse of the wicked fairy”.

“It is the theological equivalent of the curse of the wicked fairy in one of the fairy tales. It is un-Christian as well as being anti-constitutional,” he continued.

HAMBURG, GERMANY - JULY 21:  Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge view helicopter models H145 and H135 before departing from Hamburg airport on the last day of their official visit to Poland and Germany on July 21, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany.  (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

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“It is a very long way from being a blessing for Prince George.”

But Provost Holdsworth, who runs St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow, appeared to walk back his remarks in his latest blog post on the issue.

TOPSHOT - Britain's Prince George arrives for his first day of school at Thomas's school in Battersea, southwest London on September 7, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / RICHARD POHLE (Photo credit should read RICHARD POHLE/AFP/Getty Images)

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He wrote: “This week, this old post has received much media attention, many people presuming that it was a new post and part of a commentary about the Royal Family rather than the church.

“The post was entirely about the church and its policies around LGBT inclusion.

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 07: (In this handout photo released by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge with his son Prince George on his first day of school on September 7, 2017 in London, England. The picture was taken at Kensington Palace in London shortly before Prince George left for his first day of school at Thomas's Battersea. Photographer Chris Jackson who took the picture said “The first day of school is an exciting time for any child, and it was great to see Prince George with a big smile on his face next to Dad, The Duke of Cambridge, ahead of their first school run together.” (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) NEWS EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE (including any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non-editorial use including, for example, calendars, books and supplements). This photograph is provided to you strictly on condition that you will make no charge for the supply, release or publication of it and that these conditions and restrictions will apply (and that you will pass these on) to any organisation to whom you supply it. All other requests for use should be directed to the Press Office at Kensington Palace in writing.

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“I could spend the next few weeks defending that post and keep reminding people what it was originally about,” he continued on his blog, called What’s in Kelvin’s Head?

“However, it seems to me that isn’t likely to be fruitful.

“The ironic comment that I made quite a while ago could be seen as hurtful to members of the Royal Family, a group of people whom I actually rather admire.

(Twitter/kelvin holdsworth)

“I’m sorry that something that I wrote has been interpreted in the way that it has.

“It was not my intention to cause hurt and I regret that this has led to the current focus on Prince George.”

Provost Holdsworth on Nigerian Independence Day (Twitter/kelvin holdsworth)

The clergyman added: “We’ve seen media frenzies around the Royal Family before. No doubt we will see them again.

“I’m sorry that I inadvertently provoked this one by something I wrote some time ago.”

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