Prince William And Kate Middleton Lead Radio Discussion About Mental Health
Prince William and Kate have long campaigned on the subject of mental health, making it a key charitable focus for almost a decade. And today, the couple made it clear that they intend to continue with this work as Prince and Princess of Wales, as they took part in a radio discussion to mark World Mental Health Day.
William and Kate visited Radio 1’s Newsbeat—which is a youth-focussed news program—to lead a discussion with mental health experts and campaigners. They sat in a studio with five other contributors for the talk which will be broadcast twice tomorrow and will also be available online on BBC Sounds.
"A lot of people don't realize what they need until it actually comes along," William said in a section of the discussion which was previewed today on Newsbeat. "You can be living one life one minute and something massively changes and you realize you don't necessarily have the tools or the experience to be able to tackle that."
Kate observed, "There's no right or wrong, that's the thing as well, different things will work for different people."
The royal couple spoke with Dr Abigail Miranda, an Educational and Child Psychologist working in early years; António Ferreria, a mental health activist who was diagnosed with Undifferentiated Schizophrenia and Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder as a teenager; Ben Cowley, a registered Music Therapist and Assistant Mental Health Advisor for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; Emma Hardwell, a Youth Participation Officer at The Mix which offers mental health support to those under the age of 25, as well as Newsbeat presenter Pria Rai.
“Newsbeat isn’t just about delivering the news—we’re here to be a friend too, and a place our listeners can find support and advice when they need it,” egditor of Newsbeat, Danielle Dyer, said in a statement today. “Talking about mental wellbeing without stigma or judgment is so key and it’s brilliant to welcome the Prince and Princess of Wales to our reporting team for the day, to join us in such a vital conversation.”
Marking World Mental Health Day has become a staple in the royal calendar, especially since the young royals made it a focus of their work. In 2016, William, Kate and Harry took trip on the London Eye alongside mental health campaigners to highlight the day. And in 2019, Harry took part in an online video with Ed Sheeran to encourage people to talk to their friends if they need help.
The Newsbeat discussion will be broadcast tomorrow (Tuesday, October 11) at 12:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. on BBC Radio 1 and will be available on BBC Sounds.
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