Prince William very thoughtfully responded to an audience question he received during his visit to the Albert Kennedy Trust today about how he and his wife Kate Middleton would react if any of their three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, or Prince Louis—came out as LGBTQ+ to them.
He said that actually, he and Kate have been thinking about it and talking about it. He’d be 'absolutely fine' with it personally but does worry about the scrutiny his kids would receive if they publicly came out and how to best support them.
'I’ve been giving that some thought recently because a couple of other parents said that to me as well' William began his response, via People.
'I think, you really don’t start thinking about that until you are a parent, and I think—obviously absolutely fine by me [if they came out as gay]. 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.'
That's where his conversations with Kate have come in, William continued.
'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. 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.'
This is the first time William has spoken about how he'd react if any of his children didn't identify as straight. Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis are far from making that decision, with his and Kate's oldest son George being just five years old.
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
