Senior Scottish reverend apologises after saying Christians should pray for Prince George to be gay

Initial comments sparked fury from Conservative clerics

His comments urging Christians to pray for the four-year-old future monarch, who is third in line to the throne, to be gay was part of a list of suggestions to aid LGBT inclusion in the Church of England (Getty Images)

A senior Anglican minister has apologised after saying Christians should pray for Prince George to be gay in order to support same-sex marriage.

The Very Rev Kevin Holdsworth, senior Scottish Episcopal church minister, said Christians should hope “the Lord blesses George with the love of a fine young gentleman” to aid the progression of LGBT rights in the church.

He wrote: “If people don’t want to engage in campaigning in this way, they do in England have another unique option, which is to pray in the privacy of their hearts (or in public if they dare) for the Lord to bless Prince George with a love, when he grows up, of a fine young gentleman.

“A royal wedding might sort things out remarkably easily, though we might have to wait 25 years for that to happen. Who knows whether that might be sooner than things working out by other means?”

He made the comments in a blog post he reposted about LGBT inclusion in the Church of England in the wake of the announcement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement.

Rev Holdsworth, an LGBT campaigner, sparked controversy for the remarks - which were written more than two years ago - after they resurfaced last week.

The provost of St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow has now clarified his remarks in a post published on Thursday and said it had never been his intention to cause hurt. He also voiced his regret the post had shined the spotlight on the young royal.

“The post was entirely about the church and its policies around LGBT inclusion,” he wrote. “The debate about the church and sexuality will go on. I'm not interested in continuing it through a conversation about Prince George.”

The initial comments prompted fury from Conservative clerics including former chaplain to the Queen Gavin Ashenden.

Mr Ashenden said the prayer for the young prince to be gay was “un-Christian” and “anti-constitutional” and described the blog post as praying “the child out of the intentions of God.”

He told Christian Today: “It is an unkind and destabilising prayer. It is the theological equivalent of the curse of the wicked fairy in one of the fairy tales.

“To co-opt the Royal children to service a narrow sexual agenda seems particularly tasteless.”

Rev Holdsworth's comments urging Christians to pray for the four-year-old future monarch, who is third in line to the throne, to be gay was part of a list of suggestions to aid LGBT inclusion in the Church of England.