A British military veteran, who was openly gay when he served in the army, has revealed that Prince Harry once defended him against homophobic abuse from other soldiers.
James Wharton served with Harry, also known as the Duke of Sussex, in the British army back in 2008 when they were deployed to Canada. Harry, who was "quite offended" by the anti-gay remarks, was Wharton's tank commander.
"I had got myself into a bit of a situation with some soldiers from another regiment and, essentially, they didn't like the fact I was gay," said Wharton, who recounted the story in an interview with the U.K. site Forces News.
"They were sort of chest poking me and making me feel quite uncomfortable. I got into my tank where Prince Harry was doing something, and he could see that I was clearly affected by something and he asked me what the problem was," Wharton recalled.
"I told him that there were a couple of soldiers outside who weren't very happy with the fact I was gay. So, quite offended that his gunner was being picked on by these people, Prince Harry went out and saw these soldiers and spoke to them, and the problem went away," Wharton said.
The former soldier said that once Prince Harry "told them off," the taunting stopped.
"He knew how to do his job, he was skilled, he took the time to know his people, he wasn't afraid to get himself involved with things that were going on," said Wharton.
Prince Harry served in the army for ten years, which included two tours in Afghanistan.
He has been open about his support for the LGBTQ+ community. Last year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex paid tribute to the community on their official Instagram account. "We proudly shine a light on PRIDE," they wrote. "We stand with you and support you."
Prince Harry's wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is currently in Canada following the couple's decision to step back from their "senior" royal roles. In their announcement, they said that they will be dividing their time between Britain and North America in order to raise their son Archie "with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter."
Queen Elizabeth II said she and the royal family "are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan's desire to create a new life as a young family," even though "we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family."
Educator88 on January 17th, 2020 at 14:03 UTC »
I wish they’d just leave him alone. He’s always seemed like such a thoroughly decent person. Who cares if he doesn’t want to be a royal? Who in there right mind would want that life?
Edit: I’ve just had huge upvotes for a comment that uses the wrong ‘their’. As an English teacher, that is causing me to feel kind of ill. Thanks for not crucifying me, Redditors!
Coendoz237 on January 17th, 2020 at 13:59 UTC »
Doesn’t surprise me at all. I was at an event after the Afghanistan Memorial Parade through London a few years ago and he was walking the room. He was talking to the Mother of a killed serviceman and gave an aide a dressing down when told repeatedly that they had to leave. I wasn’t close enough to hear what was said but it was clearly along the lines of, “This is far more important and I’ll leave when I’m ready”. He had all the time in the world for that Mother and is a top bloke in my eyes.
triple_ent on January 17th, 2020 at 09:13 UTC »
I wonder what he said to get them to stop?
"I expected more from you. You're supposed to fight for what is right for our Army and represent our country with honour."
"And if you don't stop I'll ask the Queen to hang, draw and quarter both of you!"