Prince William has said that he would "fully support" any of his children if they came out as gay.
The Duke of Cambridge was speaking at an event hosted by the LGBT+ youth charity, the Albert Kennedy Trust which supports young gay people who are at the risk of being made homeless.
The 37-year-old, who has three children with his wife Kate Middleton, said that that he had only begun to think about this issue since he became a parent and that he worries about them suffering descrimination.
I've only started to think about it since I've had children, to be honest. It is something that I'm worried about.
It's not that I'm worried about them being gay but I worry about the pressures that they are going to face and how much harder their life could be.
So, from a parent point of view that's what I would worry about.
I wish that we could live in a world that is normal and cool but particularly for my family, the position that we are in, that's the bit I'm nervous about.
I'd fully support whatever decision they make but it does worry me from a parent point of view how many barriers, hateful words, persecution and discrimination that would come.
That's the bit that really troubles me at the minute but that's for all of us to try and correct and make sure it is put in the past.
During his appearance, he also said that he was shocked after hearing about the homophobic attack of Melania Geymonat and her girlfriend Chris, who was violently attacked on a London bus, calling the incident 'appalling.'
Tim Sigsworth, the chief executive of AKT, said that he hoped the duke's comments would send a "message that we need to support, and we need to empower LGBT people."
I was personally rejected by my mum, and the idea that the future monarch is saying they would support their children if they came out as LGBT is a message to the whole of society really, a message that we need to support and we need to empower LGBT people.
William's positive and supporting words have been widely praised and welcomed by the LGBT+ community.
It was fantastic to hear that he would be fully supportive of his children if they came out as LGBTQ+, because at a… https://t.co/92TdVZHx0j— akt (@akt) 1561553318
Well done Prince William, using his platform to call out the barriers, persecution and hate LGBT people still encou… https://t.co/v3cufWprzu— Monica Lennon MSP (@Monica Lennon MSP) 1561588060
Prince William just visited his first LGBT charity (@aktcharity) and said he will fully support his children if the… https://t.co/Q9XOTpM1EZ— Ben Hunte (@Ben Hunte) 1561549779
Prince William proving he will be a truly modern king. When asked by a young man today what he would do if one his… https://t.co/YIXst700Bn— Dan Wootton (@Dan Wootton) 1561562829
What a joy to be present at Prince William’s visit to @aktcharity this morning. He met young LGBT people who were m… https://t.co/1BDDZ4ceIF— Matt Cain (@Matt Cain) 1561550065
Spot on response by Prince William to the question: 'What if YOUR child is gay?' #LGBT 🌈 https://t.co/KY9Xim3CzL— Peter Harvey (@Peter Harvey) 1561557580
Prince William: It would be 'absolutely fine by me' if George, Charlotte or Louis were LGBT. 🏳️🌈🌈#lovewins #lgbtq… https://t.co/SWzm1BBBS6— John Barrowman MBE (@John Barrowman MBE) 1561562449
A powerful message from Prince William: 'I'd support my child if they were gay'. As he says, growing up LGBT+ is… https://t.co/moIBpwJcbJ— Tim Ramsey (@Tim Ramsey) 1561558693
This is pretty significant - given the position both Prince William and his children hold in the Royal Family (futu… https://t.co/MhysNwRsWx— Chris Ship (@Chris Ship) 1561561472
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HT BBC News