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Prince of Wales sends heartbreaking message following Molly Russell inquest

Molly died age 14 in 2017

Rebecca Lewis - Los Angeles
Los Angeles correspondentLos Angeles
September 30, 2022

The Prince of Wales has sent a heartbreaking message following the inquest of the death of Molly Russell.

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He ended the tweet with the letter "W", signalling it came direct from the Prince.

Molly died by suicide at the age of 14 in 2017. An inquest revealed on Friday that social media was a factor in her death after she consumed large amounts of online content about self-harm and suicide on platforms including Instagram and Pinterest that "shouldn't have been available for a child to see".

"It's likely the material viewed by Molly… affected her mental health in a negative way and contributed to her death in a more than minimal way," senior coroner Andrew Walker said Friday.

"It would not be safe to leave suicide as a conclusion. She died from an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content."

William tweeted the message

Mr Walker added that he is preparing to write a report on the "prevention of future deaths" to send to the British government and Ofcom, the U.K.'s communications regulator, as well as social media platforms.

Molly's father Ian Russell said: "It's time to protect our innocent young people instead of allowing [social media] platforms to prioritise their profits by monetising the misery of children."

In a statement, NSPCC chief executive Sir Peter Wanless said: "This should send shockwaves through Silicon Valley - tech companies must expect to be held to account when they put the safety of children second to commercial decisions."

Prince William spoke to the founders of James' Place earlier in 2022

In May William spoke out about mental health during an engagement with suicide support charity James' Place at the unveiling of their new London location and told the parents of a young man who took his own life: "We are not really tackling the problem as fast as we need to."

While Prince Harry regularly speaks openly about mental health, his brother is more reserved, but support many mental health charities, including Heads Together.

In an impromptu speech during the unveiling of a plaque to mark the opening of the space, Prince William said: "The one takeaway thing for me today particularly, is the idea that there is a solution, there’s always a solution. I think that’s the thing the team have impressed on me."

"Despite anyone feeling like this is the last thing in the world they can do and taking their own life – is realising that there is a solution, I think that's really important," he continued

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