Watch Kate Middleton Laugh Off a Tiny Stumble — Then Share a Knowing Smile with Prince William
Even a future queen isn’t immune to the occasional misstep — literally!
Prince William and Kate Middleton stepped out on Tuesday to celebrate six months since the launch of Shout, a service that offers free and confidential mental health support via text, and honor those staffing the service. But as the royal couple made their way back to the car to head home, the mom of three nearly lost her balance.
William is seen gesturing for Kate to take the seat closest to them, but she accidentally trips, as seen in a video caught by the Daily Mail. Prince William snapped into action, reaching out his arm to make sure she didn’t take a tumble. Kate quickly regained her balance and immediately giggled at the near-accident. The couple then shared a quick smile before ducking into the backseat of the car.
Kate Middleton and Prince William
William and Kate — in a jacket by Smythe and trousers by Joseph — wanted to honor volunteers for Shout. The occasion also provides a chance for those staffers, who usually work from home, to meet their colleagues across the groundbreaking network that has started to have a real impact on those facing mental health challenges.
“They are so lovely,” Nancy Lublin, co-founder and CEO of Crisis Text Line, tells PEOPLE. “It’s amazing how much he knows about the service.”
“And he reiterated that his plan is to train and become a crisis counselor,” she added. “When you’re really busy, and/or really famous, it’s very hard to volunteer. It what’s nice about this — it’s totally anonymous. He could be the guy at the end of the phone.”
Around 600 conversations take place through the service each day. Three-quarters of those who contact Shout are under 25, and the most frequent subjects raised in those conversations are suicide (37%), depression (36%), relationships (29%), anxiety (31%), isolation (19%) and self-harm (17%), the service says.
According to Lublin, Prince William was proud of the service being “one of those example of technology being good. We talk so much about technology being a source of pain.”
“And I said, ‘I like to describe it as a light saber — a light saber can be blue and the Jedis wield it for good things, or it can be red and be wielded for bad things,’ ” Lublin said. “The Duchess said she really liked that analogy.”
Lublin also shared that Kate and William, both 37, have visited the office multiple times “quietly behind the scenes” — and they’re not the only royal visitors. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also been to the office and met with volunteers.
Crisis Text Line provides free support 24/7. Text STRENGTH to 741741 in the U.S. to be connected to a crisis counselor.
