The Prince and Princess of Wales have launched the next phase of their campaign to support the nation’s mental health with a call for “concrete action” to help the next generation.
Kate gave a major speech to young people gathered in Birmingham for a day of workshops and discussions around the issue to mark World Mental Health Day, and told them their ultimate goal was to “shape fairer, safer, kinder, more equal societies”.
With her husband listening in the audience, the princess highlighted the potential pressures of a fast-changing world where “social media and concerns about the threat of conflicts, pandemics, climate change or the cost of living” can affect our emotional wellbeing.
She went on to say: “William and I believe we need to do all we can as a society to help young people develop the emotional and social life skills they need for good mental health, and to thrive in the world around them.
“Both learning about the world and learning about how to be happy and thrive within it, should go hand-in-hand.”
In 2016 the couple, along with the Duke of Sussex, launched their landmark Heads Together campaign to raise the profile of the nation’s mental health, with William telling the young people “tackle the stigma and the taboo”.
A series of projects followed, from the royals talking about their own mental health, joining famous faces in video messages to mark mental health events to encouraging the public to speak out about their problems or support a friend in crisis.
Harry along with wife Meghan is due to attend a World Mental Health Day festival in New York later where they will join parents for a discussion about a number of issues including creating a safer online world for young people.
William joined a public discussion after Kate’s speech and told the young audience: “Really where we are is we feel that we’ve made some progress, in that we’re all in this room talking about mental health and were chipping away at that stigma, but there’s a lot more to do.
“And I think concrete action and some sort of tangibility to come forward is the idea where we’d like to see this space go next.”
