Prince Harry Defended Gay Soldier From Homophobic Attack, Trooper Writes in New Book
A gay British soldier is crediting Prince Harry for coming to his aid against an anti-gay bias attack, according to the soldier's new book.
"One of my officers in the Household Cavalry looked at a photograph of me and my boyfriend on my barrack room wall -- and told me we looked good together -- I knew I had made the right decision to be open about my sexuality," wrote Wharton in the upcoming book Out In The Army (Wharton notes that soldiers have been allowed to serve openly in the British armed forces since 2000).
"That officer was Prince Harry, and he was to prove one of my greatest protectors."
In an excerpt printed in The Daily Mail Saturday, trooper James Wharton said that the prince, his tank commander at the time, stepped in to help him when several other soldiers threatened to "batter" him while participating in a training exercise abroad in Canada in 2008.
"I think I'm about to be murdered by the infantry," Wharton recalled telling the prince, known as Lieutenant Wales, on the night of the attack.
"I didn't hold back: I told him everything that had gone on. I couldn't stop the tears from welling up in my eyes.
"He said: 'Right. I'm going to sort this s--- out once and for all.'"
According to Wharton, the prince returned minutes later and told him that the situation had been resolved: "'I knew one of his officers and we cleared everything up. I also told those other lads to back the f--- off, too,'" the prince said.
While in the service, the soldier stated that he developed a friendly relationship with Prince Harry. He recalled one exchange with the prince, in which he dispelled rumors of the royal's supposed gay icon status.
"I don't think you are, sir!" Wharton told the prince, who insisted he was because "our press people told us!"
After Wharton reasserted that that was perhaps untrue to Prince Harry, he wondered if his hair colors got in the way of being a gay icon.
"Is it because I'm f---ing ginger?" the prince said, to the amusement of Wharton and another fellow soldier.
Wharton no longer serves in the Army -- he quit earlier this year -- but he says that he remains thankful to the prince for his actions.
"I will always be grateful to Harry and I will never forget what happened. Until he went over and dealt with everything I was on track for a battering," Wharton told the newspaper.
"I admired his kindness," Wharton wrote in the book.
"I'll never forget the four weeks we worked together and the incredible conversations we shared. The experience lives on as the stand-out period of my decade in the military."
Out In The Army will be available on June 18.
