Prince William has said he will fully support his children if they come out as LGBT.
The prince was making his first visit to an LGBTQ charity, The Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), which was set up to support teens facing homelessness because of their sexual or gender identity.
BBC reporter Ben Hunte tweeted the prince’s comment regarding his children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
William was responding to a young man’s question: “If your child one day in the future said: ‘Oh I’m gay, oh I’m lesbian,’ whatever, how would you react?”
“I think you don’t really start thinking about that until you are a parent, and I think – obviously, absolutely fine by me,” he replied, adding: “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.”
The prince said: “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.”
Although some people pointed out William’s support of his children should be a given, many praised his sentiment, pointing out that having LGBTQ allies in positions of power is only ever a good thing.
The Duke of Cambridge officially opened AKT’s new YouthSpace in Hoxton, and visited to learn more about LGBTQ youth homelessness, meeting with staff, volunteers and young people, the charity said.
Tim Sigsworth, chief executive at AKT, said they were “honoured” to welcome the duke to their new London service “which is the first visit by a member of the Royal Family to a LGBTQ youth charity”.
“The impact of homelessness is very damaging to LGBTQ young people, with high rates and incidences of mental health issues, sexual exploitation, substance misuse, HIV and sexual health issues,” Sigsworth said.
“In this 30 anniversary year of AKT, and as the first charity in the world to respond to the crisis of LGBTQ youth homelessness, today’s visit from HRH The Duke Of Cambridge is a hugely significant step forward in raising awareness of this important issue.”
In this Pride Month, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are also highlighting the work of LGBTQ charities on their Instagram account – which is now followed by more than 8.8 million people.
The Sussexes recently parted ways with the Royal Foundation that Harry established with William and Kate to set up their own charitable foundation.