The inauguration took place in the national memorial grove in Alrewas in Staffordshire where the splendor of autumn flowers surrounded the monument.
The King is the ceremonial commander of the British forces, and the monument has been erected a quarter of a century after the United Kingdom lifted the ban on LGBTQ people joining the country's military forces.
Countless soldiers were forced to leave, and several lost the right to decorations and medals as well as earned pension, as they were considered or suspected to be homosexual, bisexual, trans or queer.
The ban was lifted in 1999, after a judgment in the European Court. The then Prime Minister issued a formal apology for the ban in 2023, and said it was a "despicable failure from the British state". An effort to compensate those affected was also initiated.
And the letters in bronze in the floating monument – they form words from the people who were subjected to the harassment. The monument is called An open letter.
