Prince William Asked How He’d React if One of His Children Was Gay: The One Thing That Worries Him
During a question and answer session this week, Prince William was asked what his reaction would be if one of his children came out as gay and he’s being applauded for his response. The question was posed during his visit to the Albert Kennedy Trust to learn about the LGBTQ+ youth homelessness issue.
Prince William was asked how he’d react if one of their kids comes out
Prince William was asked the following question and he had a thoughtful answer: “If your child one day in the future said: ‘oh I’m gay, oh I’m lesbian’ whatever, how would you react?’”
The Duke of Sussex responded that it would be “absolutely fine by me” if any of his children came out as gay, but he did note some concerns he has.
He explained: “Do you know what, I’ve been giving that some thought recently because a couple of other parents said that to me as well. I think, you really don’t start thinking about that until you are a parent, and I think — obviously absolutely fine by me.”
He continued: “The one thing I’d be worried about is how they, particularly the roles my children fill, is how that is going to be interpreted and seen.”
This is a discussion Prince William and Kate Middleton have had
Prince William went on to explain that he and his wife, Kate Middleton, have actually discussed this topic.
He shared: “So Catherine and I have been doing a lot of talking about it to make sure they were prepared. 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.”
He further shared: “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. 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.”
Prince William continued: “How many barriers, you know, hateful words, persecution, all that and discrimination that might come, that’s the bit that really troubles me. But that’s for all of us to try and help correct and make sure we can put that to the past and not come back to that sort of stuff.”
He earned praise for his answer
Prince William is earning praise for his answer, with Faz Bukhari, of east London, who experienced problems at home when he began to identify as transgender, shared with reporters: “I thought his answer was so good, to hear him talk about having fears about what people might think of his children and how they might take to them, if they were identified as LGBT. That he recognizes that and is aware there could be a backlash, he understands the issues and hopefully with his comments we can get more awareness across to more parents of the issues.”
On Twitter, many people weighed in with comments about Prince William’s remarks, including: “So proud of Prince William’s statement. True leadership from our @RoyalFamily #PrideMonth2019 #LoveIsGreat” and “Spot on response by Prince William to the question: ‘What if YOUR child is gay?’ #LGBT.”