British Royal palaces accused of 'blatant homophobia'

Palace officials have been accused of homophobia over claims they have refused to stock a gay travel guide to London.

It had been suggested that Time Out Gay And Lesbian London could be sold at the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, the Banqueting House and Kew Palace.

The idea was raised by the bookshop Foyles, which until April last year ran concessions at the tourist attractions.

But a source close to the discussions said the list was ‘censored’ by management at Historic Royal Palaces, an independent charity which manages the sites on behalf of the Queen.

Last year the concessions were taken over by HRP itself but, say sources, there are still no plans for the gay guides to be stocked - suggesting the ban is still in place.

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell called on the Queen to make clear that discrimination was unacceptable in her palaces, saying: 'It seems the only reason this entirely legitimate book was excluded was because of its gay and lesbian content, which is blatant homophobia. It's shocking, pure prejudice.

'The ban would probably now be illegal under the 2007 legislation which outlaws anti-gay discrimination in the provision of goods and services.

'The Queen should make it clear that any form of discrimination - whether racism, homophobia or misogyny - is unacceptable in royal palaces or by those who manage them. '

He added: 'I thought we'd moved on from the bad old days in 1995 when Buckingham Palace staff were not allowed to bring same sex partners to the annual Christmas ball.'

A spokesman for Historic Royal Palaces vigorously rejected allegations of prejudice, however, pointing out that their shops only stocked a 'handful' of guides to the city - which amounted to just 0.1 per cent of their annual book sales.

'It simply boils down to market research about what sells and we do not offer Time Out Guides of any kind,' she said.

'We do stock a small range of 'A to Zs' plus a number of restaurant and hotel guides aimed at international visitors but our visitors tend to have their own guides to London with them when they visit.'

In a statement the charity added: 'Historic Royal Palaces welcomes 3million visitors every year to our palaces and shops and we are proud that this represents a diverse range of backgrounds and interests.

'We enjoyed a good working relationship with Foyles, who stocked books in our onsite shops for one year. The books and other products that we choose reflect feedback from visitor research and meet the purchasing habits of our customers.

'Therefore our core book offer is largely based on a range of history books, historic novels and children's publications. '

A spokesman for the Queen declined to comment but a senior royal source dismissed the allegation that she was in any way a homophobic employer.

'This is probably one of the most gay-friendly places you can work and always has been,' they said.

'The Queen Mother was especially well known for liking her staff to be homosexual.'