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Gay Soldier Says Prince Harry Rescued Him

Aside from swigging some beer at a local bar with his armoured regiment in Alberta, which made headlines during Prince Harry’s stay in Canada, it seems he befriended and respected a fellow soldier who was suffering tussles for being openly gay. Lance Corporal James Wharton speaks of his experiences in a memoir: Out In the Army: My Life as a Gay Soldier.

The most memorable incident between the two, perhaps, occurred when LCpl. Wharton talked as “Some of the boys were in competition as to who got ‘laid’ the most while in Canada.” He revealed that he had had an encounter with a fellow soldier the previous night. Upset over his story, six “extremely angry” non-commissioned officers wanted to rough him up, so Wharton came to Harry saying “Sir, I need to talk to you .. I think I’m about to be murdered by the infantry.”

The prince left and addressed the officer, coming back and saying, “I knew one of [the] officers and we cleared everything up. I also told those other lads to back the [expletive] off, too.”

As LCpl. Wharton said, “I had been on track for a battering and had been rescued.” The two also shared some mutual respect and camaraderie; he and another trooper bonded with the prince with stories on how they lost their virginity, as reported by The Globe and Mail.

Daniel June: Daniel June studied English literature at Michigan State University, graduating in 2003. Working a potpourri of jobs since, from cake-decorator to proofreader, his passion has always been writing, resulting in books of essays, novels, and children’s novellas.