Josef Fritzl says he is 'sure' he will be 'reunited' with his family

Sex offender Josef Fritzl has claimed in an interview he thinks his family will "forgive" him for his crimes and believes he will be "reunited" with them.

The 87-year-old told the Sun he is "always thinking" of his family and also said he was a fan of King Charles and watched the coronation on TV.

Fritzl was jailed for life in 2009 after he was convicted of rape, enslavement and murder for locking up and raping his daughter in a cellar for over 24 years in Austria.

Fritzl kept his daughter Elisabeth locked in the cellar of the family home in Amstetten, raped her and fathered seven children with her.

One of the children died as an infant in 1996 because Fritzl failed to get him medical help. Three of the children remained in the cellar, while Fritzl took three others upstairs and raised them with his wife.

From Austria's Stein Prison in Krems an der Donau, Fritzl told The Sun in a statement issued through his lawyer Astrid Wagner: "I miss my family very, very much.

"I am always thinking of them, and how I would like to see my grandchildren.

"I am sure that we are going to be reunited and I think they are going to forgive me for what I have done".

He added that he is "extremely sorry" for what he has done and "regrets" his crimes.

He also told the paper he watched the whole coronation on TV and thought it was "splendid". "I'm a monarchist. I'm a big fan of King Charles," he added.

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Fritzl's case gained worldwide attention in 2008 when Elisabeth told police she had been held prisoner by her abusive father for 24 years.

He lured Elisabeth into the cellar of the family home Amstetten in 1984, when she was 18 years old. He told his wife Rosemary that she had run away and joined a cult.