Prince William could not hide his emotion at Rhian Mannings’ testimony. This British mother of two founded an association to help people who have suddenly lost a loved one. Her husband committed suicide in 2012, after the accidental death of their baby.
During this exchange around the family kitchen table, filmed as part of a suicide prevention campaign, to mark Mental Health Day, William and Rhian Mannings talk about this tragedy and how it could have been prevented.
“There’s one thing I would say to him, if I had time with him, it would be ‘why didn’t you talk to me?'” says Rhian Mannings, responding to a question from William.
“I was totally devastated.”
“I ask myself the question every day. I was totally devastated. All weekend I had not stopped feeling guilty. I just wish I could say, ‘why didn’t you come talk to me? So much happiness was lost. We would have gotten over it,'” he adds.
Seized with emotion, Prince William looks away for a moment. “Are you OK?” his interlocutor asks him. “I’m sorry, it’s hard to ask you these questions,” William replies. “It’s difficult and you’ve lost loved ones yourself,” adds Rhian Mannings.
“Life can bring you terrible surprises, but talking about it and staying hopeful is what keeps you going,” he continues.
“The best way to prevent suicide is to talk about it. Talk about it early, with your loved ones, your loved ones, your friends. So thank you for talking about it.”
The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales announced on October 10 the launch of a “national suicide prevention network” to transform suicide prevention in the United Kingdom, where one person commits suicide every 90 minutes.
Communication change
Prince William is making a pretty radical change to royal communication. Last week he spoke about very personal topics on Eugene Levy’s entertainment program, The reluctant travelerbroadcast on Apple TV+. By choosing unofficial channels to express himself, he broke with the communication methods of his father, King Charles.
William also took the opportunity to talk about how he wants to change the monarchy when he is king and “question things more.”
The Prince of Wales also differs from his father in his charitable work, sponsoring only 38 associations, while his father oversees more than 400.
Mental health is one of the commitments that matters most to you. Like his brother Harry, who often spoke in prevention programs about the importance of opening up and talking to avoid falling into depression. Meghan Markle herself revealed that she considered suicide when she was in the royal family and was a target of the tabloids.
He also accused the royal family of denying him medical care. “They told me I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
Source: BFM TV
