Prince William and Kate Middleton Lead the UK's Celebrity-Packed "Mental Health Minute" Broadcast

Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images
Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images

Prince William and Kate Middleton are leading the charge to increase conversations about mental health.

On Friday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined several other celebrities, including former professional footballer David Beckham, in the UK in taking part in the "Mental Health Minute" broadcast for Mental Health Awareness Week.

"It would be great to keep talking," Prince William says in the PSA.

Later in the 60-second clip, Kate adds, "Because our mental health binds every single one of us together."

At the end of the video, Beckham closed the message by encouraging viewers to take "time to reflect through the most challenging of years."

The message was broadcast simultaneously across more than 500 radio stations in the United Kingdom at 10:59 a.m. local time on Friday. The PSA was broadcast in support of Shout85258, a service that offers 24/7 support via text message to people who need to talk about mental health issues.

Shout85258 is a special project for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The service was developed as a "legacy of the Heads Together campaign and was set up with a £2m grant from The Royal Foundation," according to a release from the Royal Foundation. The text-based service is staffed by 2,400 trained Shout Volunteers who are supported by clinical supervisors and had provided support to more than 265,000 texters across the UK as of March 2021.

In March, William and Kate participated in a video call with the family of a 12-year-old boy who reached out to Shout85258 during a moment of crisis about the life-saving impact the service had.

“We have no doubt that what happened between our son and Shout when he was stood on that bridge was enough to save his life," the boy's father said during the call.

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