Prince William has revealed that it was his wife Kate who was the brainchild behind their mental health campaign, Heads Together. Giving a speech on World Mental Health Day alongside his brother Prince Harry, William explained the origins of their campaign, saying: "When Catherine, Harry and I launched Heads Together, it is fair to say that we were ambitious about what it could achieve.
"It was Catherine who first realised that all three of us were working on mental health in our individual areas of focus. She had seen that at the core of adult issues like addiction and family breakdown, unresolved childhood mental health issues were often part of the problem."
"It was Catherine who first realised that all three of us were working on mental health," said William
William, a former helicopter pilot, added: "Harry had seen that it wasn't enough to help veterans recover from their physical injuries without acknowledging the emotional and mental support they required. And after years of working with the homeless, and having been called out to multiple scenes of suicide as a Search and Rescue and then HEMS pilot, I understood the damage poor mental health was causing to our communities and for our families."
William and Harry gave a joint speech at the St James's Palace reception, which was held to thank supporters of the Heads Together campaign. Around 100 guests who work in the mental health sector were invited to the reception, as were broadcasters Kate Silverton, Victoria Derbyshire and Mark Austin, as well as Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell, who has written extensively about his battles with depression.
The royal trio launched the Heads Together campaign last year
On Tuesday evening, the royal brothers will host a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark World Mental Health Day. They will be joined by Kate, who will be making her first appearance since her pregnancy news was announced. The Duke and Duchess are expecting their third child, although Kate has been out of the spotlight for the past couple of months, recovering at home as she battles severe morning sickness.