Prince William Makes History As First Royal To Cover A Gay Magazine

Prince William is making history this week by becoming the first royal to appear on the cover of a gay publication.

The Duke flashes a big smile for the leading British gay magazine Attitude, in which he condemns the bullying of the LGBTQ community.

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The photoshoot took place on May 12, 2016, after His Royal Highness invited the magazine and members of the LGBTQ community to Kensington Palace for a discussion on “homophobic, bi-phobic and transphobic bullying.”

When HRH Prince William met Attitude: Take a look at our behind the scenes footage with the future King of the United Kingdom meeting with @mrmatthewtodd and members of the LGBT+ community to hear their experiences of homophobic, bi-phobic and transphobic bullying. The full video is on attitude.co.uk @kensingtonroyal Videography by @jondean_ photography by @leighkeily

A video posted by Attitude magazine (@attitudemag) on Jun 15, 2016 at 4:10am PDT

“No one should be bullied for their sexuality or any other reason and no one should have to put up with the kind of hate that these young people have endured in their lives,” the future King of England said in a statement. “The young gay, lesbian and transgender individuals I met through Attitude are truly brave to speak out and to give hope to people who are going through terrible bullying right now. Their sense of strength and optimism should give us all encouragement to stand up to bullying wherever we see it,” The cover comes only days after the Orlando massacre, where members of the LGBTQ community were targeted and killed in a nightclub shooting spree.  

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the U.S. Embassy in London on Tuesday to sign a book of condolences in honour of the victims of the terror attack. Tuesday also saw actor Andrew Garfield join thousands on the streets of London’s Soho neighbourhood to show their support for the victims.

Great to see Andrew Garfield and @jeremycorbyn here for the #SohoVigil #OrlandoUnited pic.twitter.com/c1Ui4eIRPB

— Padraig Prendergast (@prendergast) June 13, 2016

Attitude is the largest online lifestyle magazine aimed at the gay community in the UK.

When speaking of their upcoming issue earlier this week, Managing Director, Mike Buckley, alluded to the Prince William news, saying, “we will have some exciting announcements to share soon.”

Attitude‘s newest edition featuring Prince William is set to be released Wednesday, June 15.