Prince William said today
that it would be "absolutely fine" if any of his children identified
as gay and he would support them through it.
He made this statement
while visiting Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT),
an LGBT charity in Hoxton, east London, that
helps LGBT young people who were made homeless because of their
sexual orientation.
While speaking during his
visit today, the Duke of Cambridge has said he worries about the pressures his
children may face if in future they came out as gay or lesbian. He said he
would be "absolutely fine" if they did, but he worries about the
persecution they may face. He went on to admit he had discussed the
subject with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge.
He also expressed his
shock at the recent bus attack on a lesbian couple, saying: "I was
really appalled by that attack."
The
Prince was asked by a young gay man what he would do if any of his kids
comes out as gay.
The man, who chose
to be anonymous asked: "If your child one day in the future said: ‘Oh I’m
gay, oh I’m lesbian,’ whatever, how would you react?"
Prince 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."
The father-of-three,
added: "The one thing I’d be worried about is how, particularly the roles
my children fill, how that is going to be interpreted and seen. So Catherine
and I have been doing a lot of talking about it to make sure they were
prepared."
He added:
"It worries me not because of them being gay; it worries me how everyone
else will react and perceive it and the pressure is then on them."
He told another man
in the group he had started thinking about it since his children were born and
it was something he was "nervous about".
He added: "Not
because I am worried about them being gay, or anything. It’s more about the
fact I’m worried about the pressure – as you all know - they’re going to face
and how much harder their life could be.
"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.
"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." Tim Sigsworth, Akt’s chief executive, said the fact that a
future monarch would support their children if they came out as LGBT sent
"a message to the whole of society" and would "make a
massive difference".
