Nearly HALF of Brits would object to a gay royal wedding
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Nearly half of Brits would object to a same-sex Royal wedding.
The shocking news comes from YouGov, who polled the public after Prince Harry announced his engagement to American actress Meghan Markle.
The Prince has previously spoken out about racist and antiquated attitudes towards his partner, who is divorced and mixed race.
YouGov’s polling found that most Brits have no issue with a royal marrying someone who is divorced or of a different ethnicity
However, it found that a large number of people would still object to a gay royal wedding.
The pollster asked: “Do you think it would or would not be acceptable for a member of the Royal family to marry someone of the same sex?”
Of those who had an opinion, 48 percent said it would not be acceptable, while 52 percent had no issue.
However, demographic data showed divergent attitudes to the issue.
Among those who voted for Brexit, just 29 percent believe that a royal same-sex wedding would be acceptable, compared to 63 percent for Remain voters.
There is also a massive generational gap.
Just 13 percent of over-65s believe a royal same-sex wedding is acceptable, compared to 66 percent of 18-24s.
A gay wedding was also objected to far more than any other scenario that YouGov polled – marriage to someone who is not British, who is divorced, who is of a different religion, who is much older than them, someone of a different ethnicity, and someone who already has children.
Aside from a gay wedding, there was majority support for every other scenario, with 62 to 79 percent of people approving of the marriage in all other scenarios.
It was announced yesterday that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will make their first joint appearance at an event held by HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust.
The British royal made global headlines yesterday when he announced his engagement to Ms Markle, an actress best known for appearing in US TV show Suits.
Britain’s Prince Harry and his fiancée US actress Meghan Markle (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)
However, she will be leaving the Hollywood life behind her ahead of the pair’s wedding, and taking up royal engagements alongside her fiancé.
Kensington Palace confirmed that the pair will make their first joint appearance at a royal engagement on Friday, which is World AIDS Day.
The pair will attend an event in Nottingham run by Terrence Higgins Trust.
The palace said: “Prince Harry and Ms Markle will undertake their first official engagements together in Nottingham this Friday.
“Prince Harry is looking forward to introducing Ms Markle to a community that has become very special to him.
“They will visit a Terrence Higgins Trust #WorldAIDSDay charity fair where they will meet representatives of organisations supporting people living with HIV/AIDS.”
(Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Ian Green, CEO, Terrence Higgins Trust, told PinkNews: ‘We’re delighted to welcome Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Nottingham Contemporary this Friday, for a #SeeRed event to mark World AIDS Day.”
He added: “We’re really looking forward to introducing both him and Meghan to some wonderful individuals and groups who help to combat HIV stigma in the UK.”
The Prince has recently become a passionate activist on HIV/AIDS, speaking out repeatedly on the issue.
(Photo by EDDIE MULHOLLAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Earlier this month he attended the opening of Terrence Higgins Trust’s HIV self test pop-up shop in Hackney, to launch National HIV Testing Week.
Last year the Prince made headlines by taking a HIV test himself in a Facebook Live video, in an appeal for more people to get tested.
The Prince added that it was important for him as a straight man to take on the issue, to bust early misconceptions about HIV/AIDS being an exclusively ‘gay’ disease.
He said: “The issue itself needs a straight guy, mid-30s, to come in and try and normalise it. Once again, I’m fortunate enough to be in this position in order to make a difference.
The royal continued: “There’s so much stigma simply around a name or an acronym. It’s 2016 for god’s sake, we need to start rethinking this.
“Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. When you spell it out, you suddenly go, ‘it’s not actually that terrifying at all’.”
