Prince William “fine” if his kids are gay
Pic: Akt / Facebook
While visiting an LGBTQ youth charity, Prince William says he’d be supportive if one of his children came out as gay or lesbian.
On Wednesday, William visited the new London service centre of the Albert Kennedy Trust (Akt), an organisation that supports LGBTQ+ young people in the UK who experience homelessness or live in hostile environments.
The Duke Of Cambridge opened the facilities and met with staff, volunteers and young people affected by homelessness. It’s said to be the first visit to an LGBTQ+ youth charity by a member of the royal family.
At the event, he was asked a question by an unnamed young gay man: “If your child one day in the future said: ‘Oh I’m gay, oh I’m lesbian,’ whatever, how would you react?”
According to The Guardian, William replied: “I think you don’t really start thinking about that until you are a parent, and I think – obviously, absolutely fine by me.”
William, who is the father of George, 5, Charlotte, 4, and Louis, 1, admitted, however, that he has concerns as a parent about the possible challenges that this hypothetical lesbian or gay child might face, especially being a royal.
“I wish we lived in a world where, like you said, it’s really normal and cool. But particularly for my family and the position that we are in, that’s the bit I’m nervous about,” said the prince.
“I fully support whatever decision they make, but it does worry me from a parent point of view how many barriers, hateful words, persecution and discrimination that might come. That’s the bit that really troubles me a little bit.
“That’s for all of us to try and help correct, to put that in the past and not come back to that sort of stuff,” William added.
Tim Sigsworth MBE, Chief Executive at Akt, noted that 24% of young people facing homelessness in the UK are LGBTQ+, and 77% of those experience homelessness because of familial rejection, ejection and abuse.
“Today’s visit from HRH The Duke Of Cambridge is a hugely significant step forward in raising awareness of this important issue,” said Sigsworth.
In March last year, it was reported that Prince William had expressed his support for efforts to decriminalise homosexuality in more than 30 Commonwealth countries that still ban LGBTQ people.
Earlier this month, William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, became the first royals to back LGBTQ Pride. They posted an affirming collage of images on their official Instagram account, asserting that “we ‘proudly’ shine a light on PRIDE” because “love is love.”
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