Prince William appears on cover of gay magazine

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has become the first member of the British royal family to appear on the cover of a gay magazine.

William features in the July issue of Attitude magazine, discussing the mental health implications of homophobic, bi-phobic and transphobic bullyings, The Guardian reported.

The cover of the magazine, which is available for download now, shows a smiling William, wearing a white open-necked shirt, with the caption: "Making History, Prince William meets Attitude".

A number of previous cover stars for the magazine, including Olympic diver Tom Daley and pop star Harry Judd have appeared topless, but the likes of comedian, writer and broadcaster, Stephen Fry and singer Gary Barlow -- like William -- have appeared fully clothed.

The cover came about after William invited the magazine to bring members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community to Kensington Palace here to hear their experiences of bullying and discuss the impact on their mental health implications.

"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," William told Attitude.

"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," he added.

--IANS

ank/nn/bg