Bishop apologises for jibe at Prince William and Kate Middleton

The Bishop of Willesden has apologised after predicting that Prince William's marriage to Kate Middleton would last seven years.

Bishop Pete Broadbent made the prediction in comments he wrote on Facebook.

In a protracted jibe at the Royal family, the bishop expressed his anger at having to pay for Royal weddings and the “nauseating tosh” that appears in the media surrounding such events.

“[T]he wedding belongs to the family. It's their celebration. Not some piece of national flim-flam paid for out of our taxes, for a couple whose lives are going to be persecuted and spoilt by an ignorant media. I wish them well, but their nuptials are nothing to do with me. Leave them to get married somewhere out of the limelight and leave them alone,” he said.

The Bishop then went on to refer to Prince Charles and Princess Diana as “Big Ears and the Porcelain Doll” and complained that the Royal family “cost an arm and a leg”.

He claimed that royalty down the ages had been characterised by “broken marriages and philanderers”.

“I don't care about the Royals. I'm a republican ... As with most shallow celebrities in our society, they [Prince William and Kate Middleton] will be set up to fail by the gutter press, who don’t care about them unless they sell newspapers. And that means hounding them to death … I give the marriage seven years," he said.

In a public apology issued at lunchtime today, Bishop Broadbent expressed his regret over his comments and the hurt they may have caused.

"I have conveyed to Prince Charles and to Prince William and Kate Middleton my sincere regrets for the distress caused by my remarks and the subsequent media attention about the forthcoming Royal Wedding. I recognise that the tone of my language and the content of what I said were deeply offensive, and I apologise unreservedly for the hurt caused," he said.

"It was unwise of me to engage in a debate with others on a semi-public internet forum and to express myself in such language. I accept that this was a major error of judgement on my part. I wish Prince William and Kate Middleton a happy and lifelong marriage, and will hold them in my prayers.”

There have been calls for his resignation from media commentators, including popular church and society blogger Archbishop Cranmer, who denounced Bishop Broadbent’s comments as judgemental and spiteful.

“That's precisely what the Established Church needs: generous, humble and optimistic shepherds of the sheep who set their minds on all that is noble, pure, lovely and of good report. He really ought to read what the Bible has to say about soothsaying,” he said

Lambeth Palace, the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, has made no moves to condemn the bishop’s comments, saying that he was “entitled to his views”.