The Cambridges Help Kick Off Children’s Mental Health Week

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have paid a visit to Mitchell Brook Primary School in London to help launch Children’s Mental Health Week. The school was the host of Place2Be’s Big Assembly.

After being greeted by a steel pan children’s orchestra, William and Kate sat in on the assembly where pupils from the school were presented with awards celebrating their kind actions towards others – the theme of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week.

Kate, who wore a red Luisa Spagnoli skirt suit first worn during her engagement period, gave a speech in which she told the students it was incredibly important for them to speak with someone – a parent, a teacher, a friend – if they are feeling upset, angry or lonely.

“Recently I met an 11 year-old girl who was helped by Place2Be. She told me that if you keep your feelings inside, you can feel as though you will blow up like a balloon. But, by talking to someone about them, it can make you feel so much better,” the Duchess said, and encouraging the students to “try and be kind” and “keep a look out” for others who appear to need help or look sad.

In the evening, the couple attended the Guild of Health Writers Conference at Chandos House. Prince William took his turn to speak about mental health at the conference, discussing what the couple and Prince Harry are hoping to achieve through the Heads Together Campaign. Because a number of people still do not talk about their mental health, “this means that what often starts as a fairly minor issue becomes something serious and medical after time…but talking can lead to help and support.”

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Children, Mental Health, Patronage, The Duchess of Cambridge, The Duke of Cambridge.