Hello GTF,

The royal family in the United Kingdom is viewed as one of the most traditional elements of British society by many. There has of course been many a scandal involving the Royals, the cynic inside of me presumes that there are probably more than are actually revealed.

My question is this, if a senior member of the Royal family, i.e. one directly in line to the throne, such as Prince Harry, were gay, would they 'out' themselves to the nation. Is the thought of having an openly gay monarch just too much for many people in the UK, my guess is that yes it probably is. The Royal family in my opinion is a body that acts, most of the time, with a strong sense of 'professional separation', or in other words, their private lives are kept strictly private.

I hope what I have said makes some sort of sense, let me know what you think.

Manvendra Singh Gohil

Didn't go too well for him.

But I would love Harry to come out. He's so fit.

I'm an American so this might not be reliable.

I think that the Royal family would never allow their members to publicly declare their homosexuality. Most likely, it'll be discussed upon within family grounds before anything else. It all depends on the well-standing of the Royals; will they still be respected by the British? How will the Royal family cope with scripting a Royal prince and a Sir together in marriage?

I don't know, how are gays viewed in Britain?
I really can't see a president of the US coming out as gay but British people seem to be more... how should I put this-- less ignorant than Americans.

Whilst the palace may prefer all such things to be kept under wraps, surely if any member of the Royal family was to enter into a homosexual relationship, said member's sexual proclivities would soon become known to the general public? It would make the personal life of any royal difficult if they were homosexual, as unless they never act on any of their desires/urges it would be extremely difficult to prevent it from being public knowledge.

If Rick Santorum came out as homosexual, I would find that highly believable.

The royal family has a historic tradition of keeping their private lives absolutely private. My guess is they'd refuse to comment unless it became apparent they were in a serious relationship with member of their own sex- thanks to the infernal media, or that any homosexual member of the family would be encouraged to keep it under wraps to themselves and to the rest of the world.

As for the reaction of the British public, I think it'd be a mostly positive one with the usual religious/ignorant/both nutjobs complaining in spite of everyone else. We have our faults, but on the whole, I think we could go along with it.

There have probably been hundreds of gay royals over the years

I am not questioning wether there have been gay royals, that is pretty much a dead cert, but wether a gay royal would be able to out themselves to the nation or would even want to.

I think one of the most important factors to be considered is that assuming the royal in question was in line to the throne and could realistically one day be the monarch, how their being gay would impact their role as head of the Church of England. I'd expect that being gay would be seen as something as a problem from that perspective.

It allows gay Bishops so I would see no problem with a gay monarch, besides everyone in power would have to try and be real P/C so they would try and avoid the topic. So long as they don't want to marry a Catholic no problem.

An uncle to the queen was Bi, sleeping with both men and women. I think that if a royal were gay they would be forced to abdicate because of carrying on the bloodline.

you seem to be missing the point. there have been hundreds and yet we don't know about 99% of them. ergo, your question is answered.

King William II and Queen Anne were both thourht by many to have been homosexual, but today it would be hard for a royal to come out as gay, but hopfuly in the future it would be much easier for them to do so

One does not give a single f**k if a royal outed themselves.
but one wouldn't mind if they showed some support for the gay community.....

I've gone all proper and posh

Well, I think in the US, considering how Harvey Milk and JFK(he wasn't gay but he was in favour of peace) ended up, I'd doubt a royal would do the same. Especially a direct relative of Lizzy 2.

Just a question to any Brit kind enough to answer, what would happen if an MP or prime minister came out?

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They're figurehead pretty much these days. When was the last time British Monarch involved themsevles with politics? Exactly

You won't see Gay royal unless that family is under heavy fire for anti-gay stance in an ultra gay friend country.

just look at Richard the Lionhearted.

OT, I dont think that it would happen now, based off of what I hear on here about the UK, but an openly gay royal doesnt seem too far ahead in the future. of course, as a yank, Im just speculating, but who knows?

The monarch is meant to be impartial and simply an advisory role, hence why they can't vote, so really it's hard for them to be too deeply involved.