Prince William just explained how he would react if his children came out as LGBTQ+

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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

During his visit, the Duke of Cambridge was asked questions by young ambassadors for the charity, who asked him how he would feel if any of his children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte or Prince Louis – identified as LGBTQ+.

‘[I would be] absolutely fine by me,’ William told them, explaining how he and the Duchess of Cambridge had already discussed what they would do and how their only concern would be that their positions as royal family members would make them vulnerable to ‘hate or persecution’.

‘I support whatever decision they make,’ he explained. ‘But it does worry me from a parent’s view how many barriers, hateful words, persecution and discrimination that might come. That’s the bit that troubles me a little bit.’

He continued: ‘That’s for all of us to try and help and correct, to put that in the past and not come back to that sort of stuff.’

Prince William’s words have unsurprisingly been praised, with the young ambassadors in the room expressing their happiness.

‘To hear him say “I’d support my own children if they were in the LGBT community” was great…To know that someone has your back is huge.’

This year’s Pride parade in London will take place on 6th July.

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