Duke tells of ‘secret’ voluntary work for crisis line

THE DUKE of Cambridge has revealed he has been secretly counselling people contacting a crisis helpline developed by his Royal Foundation.

William’s work with Shout 85258 – a round-the-clock text messaging helpline – was announced to mark Volunteers Week.

Last month, the duke and duchess marked the service’s first anniversary by speaking to some of its volunteers via video call, and William said: “I’m going to share a little secret with you guys, but I’m actually on the platform volunteering.”

Kate has also been helping others and has taken part in “check in and chat” calls with those self-isolating or vulnerable as part of the Royal Voluntary Service’s NHS Volunteer Responders scheme. The duke is one of more than 2,000 crisis volunteers who are trained to support anyone, whatever their crisis, chatting via text message and helping people sort through their feelings by asking questions, empathising and listening.

The Cambridges and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex helped to launch the crisis line in May last year, investing £3m in the service through their Royal Foundation.

More than 300,000 text conversations have taken place between volunteers and people needing mental health support, with around 65 per cent of those texting aged under 25.

The Cambridges also spoke to Conscious Youth, an organisation working with young people from mainly black and other ethnic minority backgrounds in West Yorkshire, and joked about the challenges of home schooling. The couple have not disclosed if they have sent their children back to school, but William admitted some of Prince George’s coursework has proved daunting at times.