King Charles III on Monday unveiled a memorial to British LGBTQ servicemembers.<\/p>\n
The memorial is located at the National Memorial Arboretum in Burton-on-Trent, England.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see all the LGBT+ serving members and veterans of the Armed Forces, and we salute you,\u201d said the Royal Family in a social media post that contained a video of Charles placing flowers at the memorial.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout the 20th century, gay men, lesbians, and bisexual people were banned from serving in the UK Armed Forces,\u201d it adds.<\/p>\n
\nWe see all the LGBT+ serving members and veterans of the Armed Forces, and we salute you. \ud83c\udf08 <\/p>\n
This afternoon at the National Memorial Arboretum, The King attended the Dedication Ceremony of a new memorial in recognition of all LGBT+ people who have served and continue to serve\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/tEbkzsQHTG<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u201cToday marks a historic step for healing and reconciliation,\u201d said the\u00a0British Defense Ministry.<\/a><\/p>\n
The BBC notes gay servicemembers could not serve openly in the UK until 2000.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s ceremony is the first time Charles held an\u00a0\u201cofficial engagement\u201d<\/a>\u00a0in support of LGBTQ rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His mother,\u00a0Queen Elizabeth II,<\/a>\u00a0gave royal assent to the Sexual Offenses Act of 1967, which decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations among men in England and Wales who are at least 21, and to a law that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in England and Wales in 2014. Elizabeth, among other things, also\u00a0pardoned Alan Turing,<\/a>\u00a0an acclaimed World War II codebreaker and computer scientist who died by suicide two years after his 1952 conviction for \u201cgross indecency.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in 2023 apologized to LGBTQ servicemembers who \u201cendured the most horrific sexual abuse and violence, homophobic bullying, and harassment, all while bravely serving this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
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