Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Harrow College to mark World Mental Health Day

The Duke and Duchess spoke to people who help with the Time to Change anti-stigma campaign
Arthur Edwards/The Sun/PA Wire
Laura Proto10 October 2015

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge told young people ‘talking about mental health is so important’ as they visited a north west London college to mark World Mental Health Day.

Kate and William visited Harrow College to meet and hear stories from those who have overcome mental health problems and are now helping others to do the same.

The visit started with a group of young women explaining their own personal experiences and the work they now do with anti-stigma campaign Time to Change.

William asked the group what made them want to get involved and help others.

Nikki Mattocks, 18, replied: "For me it is because, for years - I have experience of hearing voices - and I never really felt there was a positive role model out there.

"When I said that I was hearing voices, I was told that I must be a murderer.

"For me it is really important for people to know that we are just normal, average people."

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Harrow College

1/9

The couple also spoke to Emma Peacock, 19, about the struggle of telling her family about her diagnosis of bipolar at the age of 16.

Miss Peacock said: "I was so scared my family would worry, you always want to protect your family so I found it really hard."

Her mother, Nadine, who was also at the event, told the Duchess: “When your child is going through such difficulties and anxieties, and struggling with mental health, it is heartbreaking.

“A lot of her friends wouldn't talk about it because it was taboo.”

The Duchess asked the group whether schools are willing to listen and understand the concept of young people struggling with mental health problems.

William shook his head as Miss Peacock said: "When I got ill, I had to go into hospital. My school wouldn't let me back in because they were worried about contagion, and my grades not being good enough. They didn't want to be the school who had "the issues".

The couple were both visibly moved by what the young people told them
Arthur Edwards/The Sun/PA Wire

At the end of the session, William told the group: "I could sit here and talk to you for hours. Thank you so much for sharing your stories with us.

"You are being incredibly brave doing this. I know it's not easy for you re-living your experiences again and again.

"If we can get more young people talking, and coming through with their experiences, then we can really get mental health to the fore, which is where it should be and what we need to do."

The Duchess added: "I keep thinking about what else we can do and how we can raise awareness. Keep the ideas coming. We think it's so important, so really well done for being ambassadors. Talking about mental health is so important."

The visit, in conjuction with Mind, was the first engagement the Duke and Duchess have embarked on together in support of mental health issues.

Mental health charity Mind provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem.

Every year, Mind in Harrow helps over 7,000 local people with assistance from over 100 volunteers.

For more information, visit mind.org.uk.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in