Prince George 'gay icon' article referred to as 'sick'

An article on a leading LGBT website has been branded 'sick' and garnered complaints after it drew attention to people on Twitter referring to Prince George as a 'gay icon'.

The piece was published by PinkNews after a picture surfaced of the four-year-old prince with his hands on his face in a helicopter in Germany last month.

A Northern Ireland politician has launched a complaint about the website.

Jim Allister, leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party, has demanded PinkNews withdraws the article and apologises.

He said:  "Sexualising a young child in this fashion is entirely inappropriate.

"In reality, the photo which prompted the piece shows a four-year-old boy who is smartly dressed and excited about being on a helicopter with his male father and female mother.

"To take an image of a little boy and to fantasise of him being an icon for a life defined by sex is outrageous and sick."

The article by Josh Jackman was published on 25 July with the headline: People think Prince George looks fabulous in this new photo.

It then goes on to describe the young prince as a "gay icon".

It said: "The monarch-to-be has always been cute and well-dressed, but one day before his fourth birthday, a photo of him excitedly holding his face changed everything.

"At least, that's what the people - sorry, his subjects - are saying."

The chief executive of PinkNews, Benjamin Cohen, told the BBC he had no intention of removing the article.

He said it was a "tongue-in-cheek" piece, based on the comments of "hundreds" of social media users.

He also said  he had "never heard of Jim Allister" and that it was a "legitimate" piece of social commentary and rejected Mr Allister's claim that it had "sexualised" a young child.