Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge continued to champion children’s emotional well-being and mental health awareness with a low-key visit to a helpline dedicated to assisting adults deal with problems facing children and young people.
On Thursday the royals visited Young Minds in London, which is one of the eight partners of the mental health campaign Heads Together, a charitable initiative the royal couple set up together with Prince Harry.
After speaking to the organisation’s volunteers 34-year-old Kate said that as a mother-of-two herself she could relate to how some parents might feel overwhelmed when worrying about their children’s well-being.
“What we’ve taken away is just how normal it is” said Kate. “We are parents ourselves. I am sure we will face worries. We do face worries, because we’ve got small young children. If those worries escalate, how vital it is to get support – and you are providing that support.”
Kate added, “As a parent and as a mother, having that feeling that there is somebody there that is non-judgemental, that can provide the professional support, and that can really provide helping hand at a really difficult time.”
VIDEO: Duchess Catherine and Prince William on their normal fears as parents of young children
William and Kate arriving for official royal duties yesterday.
The couple also listened in on some live calls from adults concerned about children’s mental health and that prompted William to give rare insight into the emotional impact his role as an air ambulance pilot has. The Prince recalling seeing “too many sad families” and feared listening to particularly distressed calls might make him too upset.
“Can I have an easy one please? I’m carrying a lot of things at the moment. I will be in floods of tears at the end otherwise,” William said. “I’ve had too many sad families with the Air Ambulance. I can’t deal with any more stuff. Just maybe at the lower level, if I can.”
The Prince, who donates his salary to the East Anglia Air Ambulance, added: “I’m steeling myself the best I can.”
The future King later said he found the whole experience “very eye-opening.”
“I thought the service was fantastic,” said William. “I think the idea that you’ve got these very caring, lovely people on the end of the phone who listen for as long as they need to, to build the picture of what is going on, and then provide extremely good advice. And then the fact that you’ve got the mental health professionals later down the line if necessary.
“I think that is a really good balance of getting the right support straight to these families who are clearly at their wits’ end at what to do, and reaching out. Thank goodness they do reach out to something like this.”
William went on to poignantly add that it’s important parents understand they “can’t be brilliant at everything.”
“It is totally fine to talk about it and to seek help and to speak out, because we’re not all superheroes,” William said. “There is a lot of pressure on parents, and most of it is self-made by parents themselves, where you feel you have to be able to handle everything. You have to show strength and resilience to everything. But there are some times when it all gets too much and you need to reach out, and that’s totally fine.”
The Prince’s sensitive words come a day after he talked of how he missed his mother “every day” to comfort a young boy whose mum had recently died.
“I know how you feel,” William told 14-year-old Ben Hines, whose mother Alexandra passed away in June 2015. “I miss my mother every day. It’s okay to feel sad.”
The 34-year-old Prince was just 15 when his mother died in a car crash in 1997 and he advised Ben, who is the youngest of three brothers, to make sure he connects with his family over his feelings.
“As four boys, you have to talk a lot better, we’re not good sharers. It’s a classic example of lots of talking needed,” he said.
“Time makes it easier. I know how you feel, I still miss my mother every day and it’s 20 years after she died. The important thing is to talk about it as a family, it’s okay to feel sad, it’s okay for you to miss her.”
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