Prince Harry speaking out about his mental health experiences has seen an increase in people phoning the charity Mind for help.
As a result of the 32-year-old royal revealing he nearly suffered a "complete breakdown" after his mother Princess Diana died 20 years ago, on Tuesday (18.04.17), Mind saw an increase of 38 per cent than an average day.
Many called up and specifically mentioned the impact the royal family had on their decision to call.
Now, Mind will be opening their ‘Infoline’ this Sunday (23.04.17), for the London marathon day – the first time they’ve extended their opening hours to a weekend.
On Friday morning (21.04.17), Prince William and Harry once again opened up about the loss of their mother at an early age in a video on the Royal Family Facebook page for their Heads Together campaign.
The brothers said that their mother’s loss brought them closer together.
William said: "We have been brought closer because of the circumstances as well. That’s the thing, you know, you are uniquely bonded because of what we’ve been through.
"Harry and I have not talked enough about our mother over the years."
In the clip, Duchess Catherine asked if doing the campaign has made them realise how little they talked about their loss, and Harry admitted: "I think so, I always thought to myself, what’s the point of bringing up the past? ‘What’s the point of bringing up something that is only going to make you said?’ It ain’t going to change it, it ain’t going to bring her back. And when you stop thinking like that it can be really damaging. And you [William] always said to me, you’ve got think about those memories, but I was like, ‘I don’t want to think about it.’"
In response, Paul Farmer CBE, chief executive of Mind, said:
"This is a defining moment for mental health. To have the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, along with the Duchess of Cambridge, speak openly about how the loss of their mother affected their mental health shows how far we’ve come in changing public attitudes and perceptions to mental health that someone so high-profile can open up about something so difficult and personal. We know that this has had a huge impact on people who are still struggling in silence with their mental health – every time someone in the public eye speaks up we know that it encourages members of the public to do the same.
"The fact that the Virgin Money London Marathon has chosen to put mental health at its heart for the first time shows what a turning point we are at. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, who are spearheading the Heads Together campaign, have undoubtedly played a huge role in opening up the conversation around mental health and Mind is extremely proud to be one of its partner charities."
Mind sees increase in calls thanks to Prince Harry
