Prince William Would Be “Absolutely Fine” if One of his Children Said “Oh I’m Gay”

Prince William has said he would “fully support” his children if they were gay, but admitted he would “worry” about the added pressures they would face.

Ahead of the annual London pride parade and in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, The Duke of Cambridge visited Albert Kennedy Trust (akt) to learn about the issue of LGBTQ+ youth homelessness, and the positive change that akt are enacting through their unique prevention and early action approach.

The Albert Kennedy Trust is a volunteer organisation setup to serve homeless LGBT young people in the UK.

During the chat with some of the young people, The Duke of Cambridge was asked: “If your child one day in the future said ‘oh I’m gay, oh I’m lesbian’ whatever, how would you react?”

“Do you know what, I’ve been giving that some thought recently because a couple of other parents said that to me as well,” His Royal Highness responded.

“I think, you really don’t start thinking about that until you are a parent, and I think – obviously absolutely fine by me.”

Prince William and his wife Kate have three children Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Prince Louis 1.

“So Catherine and I have been doing a lot of talking about it to make sure they were prepared,” William continued.

“I think communication is so important with everything, in order to help understand it you’ve got to talk a lot about stuff and make sure how to support each other and how to go through the process.

“It worries me not because of them being gay, it worries me as to how everyone else will react and perceive it and then the pressure is then on them.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ahead of the annual #prideinlondon parade and in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, The Duke of Cambridge visited Albert Kennedy Trust (akt) to learn about the issue of LGBTQ+ youth homelessness, and the positive change that akt are enacting through their unique prevention and early action approach. The Duke met people supported by akt, and spoke to staff about the services they provide including the ‘Purple Door’ safe house, LGBTQ+ ‘host’ (or carer) services, in-person and online mentoring programmes and a range of youth engagement activities. Among the people The Duke met was Faz, an akt Young Ambassador and trans Muslim man. Faz lost his parents when he was younger and was living with extended family, but had to leave home after they reacted badly to him coming out as trans. akt helped support Faz, and he was one of the first people to move into Purple Door. Swipe to see Faz speak about how akt helped him, and see more from The Duke’s visit. Almost one quarter of the 150,000 young people facing or experiencing homelessness identify as LGBTQ+, and 77 per cent of those cite rejection or abuse from their families as what has led them to being so. akt has provided over 250,000 nights off the street and supported over 50,000 LGBTQ+ young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Today The Duke officially opened akt’s new services centre in Hoxton, which will host drop-in sessions for young people and grow its youth engagement offering. The Stonewall uprising took place in New York on June 28, 1969, and is seen as the moment that sparked the modern LGBTQ+ movement around the world. Pride marches around the world will be recognising the anniversary, including Pride in London, where akt staff and supporters will be marching. @aktcharity #LGBTQ #Pride

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Jun 26, 2019 at 7:26am PDT

William and Kate have been praised for their stance on gay rights in the past including their push for decriminalising homosexuality in all Commonwealth Countries.

Tim Sigsworth, the Albert Kennedy Trust’s chief executive, said William’s comments would make a “massive difference”.

“I was first impressed by his level of knowledge already, but his empathy and appreciation of the struggles and challenges faced by LGBT people was incredible to me.

“And just his willingness to learn from the young people, his willingness to challenge his own perceptions and his willingness to come out in support of LGBT people in such a personal way as to refer to his children, that will make a massive difference.”

Last Updated on Jun 27, 2019