Prince William shared an emotional moment with a widow in a newly released video. The future king was speaking to Rhian Manning, who lost her husband to suicide, when he began to tear up. The heartfelt chat is part of his advocacy for suicide prevention and mental health awareness.
Prince William spoke to a woman who lost her husband to suicide
William met with Rhian to talk about her husband Paul, who committed suicide in 2012. The couple’s one-year-old son George had died just a few days before.
The video was released on October 10, as part of efforts to mark World Mental Health Day. Rhian opens up about the events surrounding Paul’s death. At one point, William asks her what she would say to Paul today.
She replies: “I would just like to sit him down like this and just say, ‘Why didn’t you come to me?’ Because he’s missed out on just so much joy, and we would have been okay. And I think that’s what’s hardest — we would have been okay.”
Her answer makes William visibly upset. Rhian asks if the future monarch is okay. He replies that it’s hard to ask her those types of questions.
She says: “No, it’s fine. It’s just … you’ve got children. It’s hard … and you’ve experienced loss yourself.”
The Prince concludes: “The best way to prevent suicide is to talk about it. Talk about it early, talk about it with your loved ones, those you trust, your friends. So thank you for talking about it.”
Rhian has set up a charity to support parents grieving from the loss of a child.
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Royal Foundation is donating around $1.3 million (£1 million) over three years to get the National Suicide Prevention Network off the ground.
Prince Harry has also been advocating for mental health this week, making an unexpected appearance at an event in NYC.
TELL US – DO VULNERABLE MOMENTS LIKE THIS MAKE THE ROYALS MORE RELATABLE?
