Prince Harry and Kate Middleton record BBC Radio One show for World Mental Health Day

Prince William has spoken about ‘living life and something massively changes and you don’t have experience to tackle it’ during a discussion recorded with his wife Kate Middleton about mental health for BBC Radio 1.

The Prince of Wales appeared to have been referencing his mother Princess Diana’s death in 1997 and the recent deterioration of his relationship with brother Prince Harry during the discussion for World Mental Health Day.

The Prince and Princess of Wales spoke about the importance of mental health on the specially-recorded show for Newsbeat which will be aired on Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra and the Asian Network at 12.45pm this afternoon.

In a clip released ahead of the broadcast – which will be repeated on Radio 1 and 1Xtra at 5.45pm – the royal couple spoke about young people’s mental health with Newsbeat presenter Pria Rai and a host of advocates and experts.

William, 40, said: ‘A lot of the work we’ve done on mental health and listening to lots of people talk about it, is everyone likes a toolbox – particularly for men. A toolbox is quite a useful analogy to kind of use.’

He continued: ‘Big family networks and support networks around people are really important, but a lot of people don’t realise what they need until it actually comes along. You can be living one life one minute and something massively changes and you realise you don’t necessarily have the tools or the experience to be able to tackle that.’

Dr Abigail Miranda, an educational and child psychologist working in early years, replied: ‘To have, I suppose, in your toolbox, communication would be key and I think some of the myth-busting as well around attachment.

‘We know now through studies that actually any parent who spends a significant amount of time – or any caregiver – with the child will also form similar attachments and have those similar patterns as well.’

Kate – dressed in a £49.99 recycled Zara blazer and a glitzy gold chain, thought to be the £234 Luisa Necklace from Laura Lombardi – then said she would ‘love to know’ how the contributors look after their own mental health.

Antonio Ferreira, a mental health activist who was diagnosed with undifferentiated schizophrenia and emotionally unstable personality disorder as a teenager, replied: ‘That’s a big question.

‘I know not every day is going to be roses and sunflowers, you know, I know some days I’m going to have to push against the clouds to see that sun again and, you know, I know that you know when you have a bad day it doesn’t mean it will be a bad week or a bad month.

‘So that’s the type of awareness I’m talking about, you know, coming to accept these things. Because when you can accept these things and you know, you know, on your bad day, what you have to remember is to remain humble and, you know, stay hopeful.

‘Because after bad the good follows, and you know, after good bad follows, after night comes day, after day comes night. So, you know, you want to keep pushing, you want to, you know, however much that hope is, you want to hold onto that hope.

‘You know, you can’t always run away from the issue, sometimes you have to really face them and conquer them and so, you know, with practice there’s progress, and that’s, I guess, in a nutshell how… it was a big question!’

Kate replied: ‘There’s no right or wrong, that’s the thing as well. Different things will work for different people and it’s just sometimes trying isn’t it, as well.’

Mr Ferreira said: ‘That’s it, yeah,’ and Kate added: ‘Different methods, different opportunities that arise as well to help best support you.’ Mr Ferreira responded: ‘Exactly.’

William then said: ‘I’m conscious we might run out of time and Pria (Rai) might say this is the worst Newsbeat production by two interviewers she’s ever seen’.

But Ms Rai replied: ‘Do you know what, you can come back, this seat, I’ve kept it warm, I think you’ve done a very good job, you can come back, carry on.’

William continued: ‘Well as we’ve said at the start of this special Newsbeat, this is all about having a meaningful conversation on mental health but it shouldn’t stop here.’

And Kate added: ‘Yep, absolutely, because talking about mental health is so important and it’s definitely the first step for us all, is to keep talking, having those conversations and reaching out for help.’

Ben Cowley, a music therapist and assistant mental health adviser for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and Emma Hardwell, a youth participation officer at The Mix, which offers mental health support to the under-25s, also took part in the discussion.

Also in the chat, Kate said: ‘The last time we were here was to launch the Heads Together campaign which was to get people to start opening up and talking about mental health. Since then obviously we’ve had the pandemic and everything like that. Do you feel that there’s been a shift in what people are speaking about around mental health?’

And Ms Hardwell replied: ‘Yeah and I think especially we’re seeing this at a younger generation, my generation and younger coming up, definitely less scared to talk about mental health, and it’s becoming more acceptable. And I think through the pandemic there was a lot around feeling lonely. 

‘You know, a lot of us were isolated in our houses by ourselves. There was a lot of students who were literally in small university accommodations by themselves through that time. And talking about feeling lonely and what that can then lead to, I think because it’s become such a universal feeling, that a lot of people have grouped together. 

‘We all feel lonely right now, especially during that time, or we’re all lacking the connections that maybe we need. And so I think when we’re all feeling the same thing and we start to admit that, it makes it easier then for more people to say oh yeah, ‘me too’.’

Kate continued: ‘That’s one of the messages we are trying to encourage is the fact that everyone has mental health, and in the same way as their physical health we have to look after, in the same way we go to the gym, we need to look after and nurture our minds as well. 

‘You were saying it’s really important to reach out and connect with people. Some people actually, expression through music or through art or through other forms of expression, it’s a really great way isn’t it of experiencing mental health.’

And Mr Cowley said: ‘Absolutely, self-care is being unapologetic about what you need, and it could be all these fun things like giving yourself an hour of gaming or going to the theatre, but it can also be giving yourself permission to say that you’re not coping and to ask someone what to do.’

Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, Mr Ferreira said he hoped the programme would inspire others.

Mr Ferreira told BBC Breakfast: ‘(Taking part in the programme) was very surreal. But it’s a testament to my journey, to where I am now.

‘I never, ever thought I would be in a room speaking to the Prince and Princess of Wales about my mental health journey.

‘I think the main thing is about challenging yourself, pushing yourself, getting out of your main comfort zone. That’s the only way we learn, pushing your boundaries.

‘My goal is to raise awareness for mental health, especially in under-represented communities, and I hope something like that would shed light and inspire others.’

Aled Haydn Jones, head of Radio 1, said: ‘It’s been fantastic to welcome The Prince and Princess of Wales back to our studios to discuss something that is so close to both their and our audience’s hearts. 

‘What was discussed today will resonate with so many of our listeners and it means so much to us that we can all work together to help tackle the stigma around this issue.’

Danielle Dwyer, editor of Radio 1’s Newsbeat, added: ‘We know mental health is really important to our listeners and we also know that when they’re struggling, they often turn to their friends.

‘Newsbeat isn’t just about delivering the news – we’re here to be a friend too, and a place our listeners can find support and advice when they need it.

‘Talking about mental wellbeing without stigma or judgment is so key and its brilliant to welcome the Prince and Princess of Wales to our reporting team for the day, to join us in such a vital conversation.’

Ms Rai said: ”Let’s be honest, the news can be a heavy place. It’s felt like one ‘unprecedented’ thing after another. Be it Covid, the cost of living crisis or exam stresses, it can take a toll on your mental health. 

‘Newsbeat always wants to just let our listeners know, it’s okay – you’re not the only one feeling like that. People not only switch us on to get the news, but to share openly and frankly how they are feeling. 

‘That’s humbling; to be a trusted part of people’s lives enough that they can send us a text about feeling lonely, or having lost a loved one. We have total strangers speaking to each other on the radio who soon feel like familiar friends and that’s a really important, uplifting part of what we do.’

Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, Ms Rai added that the royal couple were very ‘candid’ and ‘caring’ throughout the programme.

She told BBC Breakfast: ‘Imagine the machine to make one of these things happen. We just thought ‘This is an amazing opportunity’.

‘Radio is the kind of place (where) you can have these conversations, and when they wanted to do this we were like ‘Absolutely, yeah’.

‘We transformed the Radio 1 Live Lounge, somewhere that is used to being the backdrop for A-list pop stars but this time it was a stage set for something very different.

‘It really was candid conversation. They weren’t sticking to their scripts at all. They were thinking about and caring about the questions.’

The programme will be broadcast at 12.45pm today on BBC Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra and the Asian Network. It will be broadcast again on Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra at 5.45pm and will be available on BBC Sounds from 2pm