Queen Elizabeth Cared About The LGBT Community, Says Manchester’s First Out Gay Lord Mayor
Image: Queen Elizabeth (left) and Carl Austin-Behan (right)
Manchester’s first out gay Lord Mayor Carl Austin-Behan has claimed that Queen Elizabeth “cared about our LGBT community”.
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, passed away on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96. Tributes have flowed in for the Queen from across the world, including from people who had met her in her lifetime. Behan was one of the few people in the world to have had met the Queen personally and to have had a conversation with her.
Austin-Behan, who was forced out of the RAF in the 1990s for being gay, was the city’s first out gay Lord Mayor. He is currently the LGBT adviser to the Mayor of Greater Manchester, and served as the Lord Mayor of the city between 2016 and 2017.
In 2019, the Queen made him an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to LGBTQ+ equality and the community in Greater Manchester.
Queen’s Visit To Manchester
Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, Austin-Behan, who was also Mr Gay UK 2001, recalled the late Queen’s visit to Manchester last year.
Ahead of the visit, Buckingham Palace called him to arrange the LGBT choir to perform during her visit to Manchester Cathedral on July 8, 2021 for the 600th anniversary of the Collegiate Church. He forwarded the Palace’s request to the Manchester Lesbian and Gay Chorus, now known as the Manchester Proud Chorus.
Austin-Behan recalled meeting the Queen, who remarked how young he looked for a former Lord Mayor.
“It was such a bizarre and unique moment. When she walked over she was like your grandma coming to you. You just wanted to give her a hug.” He recalled the Queen showed a keen interest in learning about the LGBTQI charities in Greater Manchester and about the work of LGBTQI veterans charity Fighting With Pride.
Queen Was Knowledgeable About LGBT Community
“There was the warmth straightaway. Then we started talking about the community work that I’ve been doing, the charity work with LGBT Foundation, and also Fighting With pride. She was very knowledgeable as well about Manchester’s LGBTQI+ community,” he recollected.
“We spoke about the changes that have happened in the last 20 years, from me being kicked out of the air force. She understood the changes and the fact that I was now married, it was a legal marriage, and we had children, and the fact that that we, how we’ve moved on,” said Austi-Behan.
“For her to have that understanding, and also to sort of realise the fact that she knew what Manchester’s LGBTQ community was, was beautiful,” the former Lord Mayor said.
In an interview with the BBC funded Democracy Reporting Service, Austin-Behan said that the Queen “cared for the LGBT community.“
“CARED ABOUT THE LGBT COMMUNITY,”??
(British Olympic swimmer)Tom Daley said:
“Thirty-five out of the 56 Commonwealth member states criminalise same-sex relations. That’s half the countries in the world that outlaw homosexuality. Seven Commonwealth nations have a maximum penalty of life imprisonment under laws imposed by Britain in the 19th century when it was the colonial power. ”
The former Queen was head of that organization and she adamyently lobbied to have KC III as it’s new head.