Prince William: There’s long way to go to shatter mental health stigma
PRINCEWILLIAM has admitted there is “a long way to go” to remove the stigma around mental health issues.
William was speaking as he hosted an outdoor screening of the FA Cup Final on the lawn of Sandringham House yesterday to raise the profile of his Heads Up mental health campaign.
This season’s Arsenal versus Chelsea showpiece was renamed the Heads Up FA Cup Final after the campaign spearheaded by the Prince to help raise awareness of the topic.the Duke of Cambridge joined guests on deckchairs to watch the game on a big screen at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, with Wembley empty due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He was joined by guests including former England and Arsenal captain Tony Adams, who helped found Heads Up.
Also there were Chelsea women’s player Fran Kirby, who has previously spoken about her own struggles with depression, and comedian Romesh Ranganathan, who is an ambassador for the charity Calm, the Campaign Against Living Miserably.
Romesh, 42, won a Bafta TV award on Friday night for his Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan show.
The Prince was also joined by a small group of frontline workers, Heads Up ambassadors and members of Norfolk-based Arsenal and Chelsea supporters’ groups.
Before kick-off,william spoke to some of his guests and heard about their experiences of coping with mental health challenges.
William said: “We’ve got a long way to go to kind of shatter the whole thing [the stigma around mental health], but days like today and campaigns like this hopefully are shifting us all in the right direction.
“The fact that all the football world have signed a mental health declaration stating that this matters shows that at least sportsmen and women are thinking about it as part of their day to day life.
“And it’s the same in the blue light community, so the NHS, the police.”
Football fans had also gathered at the Box Park food market in Wembley to watch the cup final clash yesterday.