Prince William & Kate Middleton Would ‘Fully Support’ Their Kids if They Came Out

Big, beautiful, inclusive news coming out of the royal family today — at an LGBTQ+ youth charity in London, it was made clear that Kate Middleton and Prince William would support their kids if gay. The revelation came straight from William, who was speaking to youth at the event for The Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), which helps LGBTQ+ young people who are at risk of becoming homeless.

Chatting with the group, William revealed that the possibility his children could one day grow up and come out. And while he pledged to “fully support” Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Prince Louis, 1, if they are gay, his support admittedly wasn’t without concern. “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,” he said, according to BBC, noting that he was speaking both as a royal and as a dad. “It does worry me from a parent point of view. How many barriers, you know, hateful words, persecution, all that and discrimination that might come, that’s the bit that troubles me.”

On this point, though, William drew the correlation between those fears and taking an action-based approach in supporting the LGBTQ+ community now. “But that’s all for 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 said.

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It goes without saying that, for a prominent member of the royal family to go on record with such an endorsement, this is a big deal for the global LGBTQ+ community. Tim Sigsworth, the chief executive of AKT, told BBC that he felt William’s comments would make a “massive difference” in perception. “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,” elaborated Sigsworth.

Of course, hearing these words from a royal also has the potential to truly affect and shape the lives of at-risk LGTBQ+ youth. In celebrating William’s message of inclusivity online, AKT noted that 77 percent of homeless LGBTQ+ youth cite familial rejection, ejection and abuse as the cause for their homelessness. And although “homosexual activity” is still considered a criminal offense in 35 of the 53 Commonwealth nations, the hope here is that William — as a figurehead and ambassador of the Commonwealth — will continue to create this sort of meaningful dialogue and be instrumental in changing existing laws built on harmful rhetoric.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have already started shaping a more inclusive narrative at home by “doing a lot of talking” to make sure their kids are “prepared.”