Duke invites transgender support charity to join mental health campaign

Mermaids faced criticism over fears it encourages confused children to turn to medical intervention

THE Duke of Sussex has offered his encouragement to a controversial charity supporting transgender children, as the Royal Foundation invites Mermaids to join its work on mental health.

Campaigners have spoken of their hopes that his support could change the lives of trans youth, making them feel acknowledged and supported by one of the world’s most famous men.

The Duke, who has made young people a key focus of his work, spoke with the chief executive of Mermaids at a recent roundtable meeting.

Heads Together, the umbrella charity run by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, invited Mermaids to the meeting at Ealing YMCA this month in recognition of the “important” work it does.

Susie Green, head of the charity, said the Duke’s support would be “hugely beneficial” in helping transgender young people, with his words “massively useful for us”.

The meeting has raised hopes that the Duke’s input could help change perceptions of transgender people and campaigners, who have been the subject of controversy in recent years.

Mermaids, the UK’S leading charity supporting “gender variant and transgender children”, faced criticism from those who fear confused young people are being encouraged towards medical intervention and transition.

Ms Green said that the invitation had been “quite heartening”. She said criticism of the charity’s work had been unfair, claiming it is “transparent” and only “wants happy kids”.

She said that transgender people were facing the “same headlines” as the gay community did 20 or 30 years ago, when the Duke’s mother the late Diana, Princess of Wales, worked to transform public perceptions.

“I think it’s always really important to young people to see that people with the authority and credibility that [the Duke] has are supporting them, are listening to them and acknowledging them,” she said.

The roundtable also included representatives from Youngminds, The Mix, which supports under 25s, and Safe Lives, a domestic abuse charity.

A spokesman for the Royal Foundation said: “Mermaids are one of a number of important organisations who are working on the front line to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people in Britain.

“It is important for The Royal Foundation to work with organisations across the board to best understand the issues that young people are dealing with today, and gain a clear understanding of what support is being made available.”