ADMIRAL Nelson will be reimagined as a gay icon in an event at the National Maritime Museum.

       The naval hero — celebrated for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 — will be “looked at through a queer lens”, organisers say.

       1

       Naval hero Admiral Nelson is to be reimagined as a gay icon for a museum event Credit: Handout

       The Queer History Club Night event will consider the “men who loved him”, including close friend Vice-Admiral Thomas Hardy, who kissed Lord Nelson’s forehead and hands when he died aboard HMS Victory.

       Nelson’s last words are said to have been: “Kiss me, Hardy.”

       The event also covers the love triangle between Lord Nelson, diplomat Sir William Hamilton and his wife Lady Emma Hamilton.

       But biographer Lord Andrew Roberts said Nelson’s heterosexuality was vigorous and widely discussed at the time.

       READ MORE ON LORD NELSON PIECE OF HISTORY Lord Nelson letter written before Battle of Trafalgar found in basement

       FERRY HARD TO REACH Luxury home on private island goes on sale... but there's a small catch

       He added: “It’s certainly bad history.

       “The ‘men who loved him’ did so because he was a quintessential military leader, not because they fancied him.”

       The museum, in Greenwich, South East London, insisted: “This is not about questioning Nelson’s sexuality but how men within a male environment establish friendship and devotion.”