Prince William said he knows he can count on his wife, his brother, father and grandparents and even his dog, Lupo, to come to his defense if ever he was bullied. The 33-year-old royal and heir to the throne revealed this fact at an anti-bullying seminar mounted by his mother's charity, the Diana Award.
According The British Monarchy Facebook Page, the prince went to Hammersmith Academy to attend the seminar with its students on Monday. The topic of the event were on issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) and bullying, and as Pink News observed, this is a first for any of the royals to publicly show support for the LGBT community.
In the seminar, the prince was asked to write down the names of five key persons he could turn to if he was bullied. William apparently wrote, "Catherine, Harry, Father, Grandmother and Grandfather" and then he also added, Lupo, his cocker spaniel, as the sixth, according to People Magazine.
The Duke of Cambridge was also asked to speak to the participants about how he would address homophobic bullying, and with the help of a chart, William told the audience, "I would start on that side [comfort the victim and end up here [confront the bully]," according to Pink News.
One of the kids spoke to the prince about being bullied and the royal was all ears, according to Daily Mail. "It was great to have his support, to have somebody of that stature and that high up, speaking up against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia," said the young boy, Tom.
"This is Diana's legacy. It's not being a bystander. That's the parallel," said Tessy Ojo, chief executive of Diana Award, via People. "Princess Diana didn't see a problem and leave it. The Diana Award is built around that ethos, getting young people to change their world."
Ojo also said that the prince was relaxed around the kids at the academy and related what the prince told her. "He said: 'Sometimes people don't want to get me involved in stuff.' He enjoyed being asked to be involved," Ojo shared, according to Yahoo.
Apart from the staff of the Diana Award, Prince William was also with the Education Secretary and Equalities Minister Nicky Morgan, according to Advocate. The prince need not look far to see the issues affecting LGBT, for according to Advocate, he worked with a transgender pilot while at the Royal Air Force.
