Prince William says he would be fine if any of his children are gay
Prince William with his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. (PH)
Prince William has said he would be a supportive parent if any of his children come out as gay, but worries about the pressure an LGBT+ royal might face.
The Duke of Cambridge, who is second in line to the throne, made the comments on Wednesday (June 26) on a visit to akt, a charity that helps homeless LGBT+ youth.
Prince William ‘nervous’ about response to a gay royal
When a young LGBT+ person asked whether he would accept a gay child, the royal replied: “I’ve only started thinking about it since I had children.
“It is something I’m nervous about, but not because I’m worried about them being gay.
“It’s more about the fact that I’m worried about the pressures they are going to face, and how much harder their life could be.”
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have three young children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Prince William explained: “From a parent point of view… I wish we lived in a world where it’s really normal and cool, but particularly for my family, and the position that we are in, that’s the bit I am nervous about.
“I fully support whatever decision they make but it does worry me, from a parent point of view, the barriers, hateful words, persecution and discrimination that might come.
“That’s the bit that really troubles me.
“That’s for all of us to try and help correct, and make sure we can put that to the past.”
It is likely that Prince William’s eldest child will one day inherit the throne.
Royal hurdles for future gay King
As head of the Commonwealth, a future monarch would preside over dozens of countries that currently criminalise gay sex.
A gay royal may also encounter hurdles if they ever get married, as their partner would not automatically inherit a title as an opposite-sex spouse would.
When England and Wales introduced same-sex marriage in 2013, the government was forced to update 700-year-old laws governing royal titles to block the automatic inheritance of wrong-gendered titles by same-sex spouses.
The wording of the previous rules would have automatically conferred the title ‘Queen’ on the male spouse of a future King
The reforms also ensured a gay man would not inherit the title ‘Princess of Wales’ by marrying a future Prince of Wales.
The UK’s honours system generally does not confer titles upon same-sex spouses, though there have been calls for reform.
