James Wharton on the cover of his book, “Out In The Army: My Life as a Gay Solider.” (Twitter)
Lance Corporal James Wharton writes in his memoir, “Out In The Army: My Life as a Gay Solider” that Prince Harry defended him against a homophobic attack from fellow soldiers while stationed in Canada back in 2008.
In an excerpt published in the UK’s MailOnline, the alleged incident started after Wharton “stupidly” and “proudly” revealed to his squad that he spent the night with another male soldier. He was later confronted by “six extremely angry infantry sergeants.”
A teary-eyed Wharton decided to approach Harry and told him, “I think I’m about to be murdered by the infantry.”
He continued, “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.”
According to Wharton, the “bewildered” prince quickly responded. “He said: ‘Right. I’m going to sort this [bleep] out once and for all.'”
Wharton continues that “Harry climbed out of the tank and started having a go. I worried he was about to make the whole thing worse, but he wasn’t holding back.
“Prince Harry was sticking up for me and putting a stop to the trouble. I had been on track for a battering and had been rescued.”
Remarkably, Harry allegedly smoothed over the ordeal in minutes: “He came back 10 minutes later and told me the problem had been ‘sorted.'”
The former trooper, who left the Army in early 2013, says he “will always be grateful to Harry,” adding, “I will never forget what happened.”