King Charles III unveils LGBTQ+ monument

King Charles III of Great Britain has attended his first LGBTQ+ event since his coronation. He unveiled “An Opened Letter” monument to British servicemen who were dismissed from the military because of their sexual orientation.

The monument, erected at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, is the result of years of struggle for justice by LGBTQ+ veterans and activists. Between 1967 and 2000, gay and other non-heterosexual people were banned from serving in the British military. Soldiers suspected of being gay were “disgraced,” court-martialed, and sometimes imprisoned, even if they had not engaged in sexual activity. According to official figures, at least 1,145 people were dismissed from the military for this reason.

In 2000, four servicemen won a case against the UK at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to end this discriminatory practice. But for years, the government took no steps to correct the injustices committed against former servicemen. Only in 2021 did the government decide to return the medals taken from LGBTQ+ veterans, and in 2023 the prime minister officially apologized to them.

One of the pioneers of the struggle for the restoration of justice was the organization “Fighting With Pride”. It was on their initiative that the “An Opened Letter” monument, created in the form of a torn letter, was carved with the statements of servicemen who were dismissed from the army. At the opening, King Charles III laid a wreath in front of the monument, paying tribute to those who died without seeing their names restored.

Powered by Froala Editor