Prince William makes show of gay support at anti-bullying event
By Will Stroude
Prince William has offered his advice on hwo to deal with anti-gay bullying, in a rare show of support for LGBT people from the Royal Family.
The Duke of Cambridge visited a school in west London yesterday (September 21) alongside Education Secretary and Equalities minister Nicky Morgan to attend workshop which dealt with the problem of cyber-bulling and homophobic bullying in the classroom, ITV News reports.
The Prince joined more than 50 young people at Hammersmith Academy as they took part in an anti-bullying session supported by an organisation set up in memory of his late mother Diana, The Princess of Wales. During the visit as part of the Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Ambassadors programme, the 33-year-0ld joined a session on LGBT issues, where students were asked how they would react to homophobic bullying.
Referring to a chart with tips about how to tackle homophobia, William indicated he would confront those behind any comments and comfort the victims.
“I would start on that side [comfort the victim] and end up here [confront the bully],” he said.
After a student said they would confront a homophobe, the Duke added: “As the young man said, I would try to confront.”
The Duke joins a @AntiBullyingPro #Back2School workshop identifying signs of bullying and how to help pic.twitter.com/1ZEWpiZq8V
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) September 21, 2015
Commenting on the Duke’s official visit, a Kensington Palace spokesperson commented, said: “He hopes it will help de-stigmatise bullying issues in schools.
“He particularly likes the idea of a peer-led support network to prevent any child or young person suffering in silence.”
While William’s comments are relatively minor, they are a big first from the monarchy, who despite being involved with hundreds of charities have typically avoided the ‘political’ subject of LGBT equality – until last year, when Queen Elizabeth officially mentioned an LGBT charity for the first time in her 63-year reign when congratulating Switchboard on its 40th anniversary.
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