Air ambulance work has left me emotionally fragile, Prince William tells volunteers

WORKING as an air ambulance pilot has taken an emotional toll on the Duke of Cambridge, he disclosed yesterday.

He warned a mental health charity that he would “be in floods of tears” if he listened to the sadder calls to their helpline.

The Duke asked volunteers at the Young Minds youth mental health charity for “an easy one” when told he and the Duchess would be listening in to concerned parents.

“I’m carrying a lot of things at the moment. I’ll be in floods of tears at the end otherwise,” the Duke said.

“I’ve had too many sad families with the air ambulance so I can’t have any more stuff. Something on the lower level if I can.” The Duke has worked part-time for the East Anglian Air Ambulance since July 2015, having previously served with RAF search and rescue. He donates his salary to charity.

A day earlier, he shared his experience of losing his mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, while comforting a family during a visit to a hos- pice in Luton. The Duke rested his hand on the shoulder of Ben Hines, 14, who lost his mother, Alexandra, a year ago at the age of 40, telling him: “Time makes it easier.”

Speaking at Young Minds on results day yesterday, he said that he still gets nervous thinking about his GCSEs.

Saida Tahir, 46, a volunteer told him the service sees a rise in calls around results time.

The Duke, who took his exams at Eton, received three A*s, five As and two Bs. He said: “It still gives me the heebie jeebies. I still get sweaty palms thinking about it.”

Speaking afterwards, Mrs Tahir, a special needs teacher and mother-of- two, said: “It brings memories back of his own exams, which is great because he remembers what it was like for himself and the anxiety he went through.”

She added that the royal couple had seemed “passionate” about child mental health.