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| Archbishop of Canterbury learns real father was Churchill's private secretary | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he is "completely surprised" after a DNA test result revealed the identity of his real father. | The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he is "completely surprised" after a DNA test result revealed the identity of his real father. |
| The Most Reverend Justin Welby, 60, has discovered he is the son of Sir Winston Churchill's last private secretary, the late Sir Anthony Montague Browne. | The Most Reverend Justin Welby, 60, has discovered he is the son of Sir Winston Churchill's last private secretary, the late Sir Anthony Montague Browne. |
| Until now he had believed his father to be Gavin Welby, a whisky salesman. | Until now he had believed his father to be Gavin Welby, a whisky salesman. |
| His mother, Lady Williams of Elvel, has confirmed she had a "liaison" with Sir Anthony just before she wed in 1955. | |
| Lady Williams, whose marriage to Gavin Welby broke up in 1958, had also been working as secretary to Sir Winston during his final spell as prime minister. | |
| In a statement she said: "Although my recollection of events is patchy, I now recognize that during the days leading up to my very sudden marriage, and fuelled by a large amount of alcohol on both sides, I went to bed with Anthony Montague Browne. | |
| "It appears that the precautions taken at the time didn't work and my wonderful son was conceived as a result of this liaison." | |
| 'Redemption' | |
| In a statement issued through Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury refers to his mother and Gavin Welby's addiction to alcohol while he was growing up. | |
| "As a result of my parents' addictions my early life was messy, although I had the blessing and gift of a wonderful education, and was cared for deeply by my grandmother, my mother once she was in recovery, and my father (Gavin Welby) as far as he was able." | |
| He added: "Although there are elements of sadness, and even tragedy in my father's (Gavin Welby's) case, this is a story of redemption and hope from a place of tumultuous difficulty and near despair in several lives." | |
| He says he discovered the real identity of his biological father in recent weeks. | |
| The Daily Telegraph says Archbishop Welby decided to take a DNA test after it approached him with research it had carried out into his family's background. | |
| It reports mouth swabs were compared with hair samples from a hairbrush kept by Sir Anthony's widow and showed a 99.9779% probability they were father and son. |