Boy, 12, invites Prince William to his school’s mental health campaign launch – and gets a sweet personal response from the royal!

A boy who wrote to Prince William to invite him to attend his school’s mental health campaign launch was delighted to receive a personal reply from the royal. 

Freddie Hadley, a 12-year-old student at St Michael’s CE High School in Rowley Regis, invited the future King to join him as a VIP guest at the launch of a mental health awareness campaign.

But since Prince William was unable to attend, he posted a public response on X (formerly Twitter), which read: ‘Good afternoon Freddie, I’m so sorry Catherine and I can’t be with you and the rest of the students at St Michael’s today.

Tackling mental health challenges and stigmas head on is so important, please keep up this important work. W.’

The schoolboy’s letter was posted on X by St Michael’s mental health lead, Kerry Whitehouse, and it has garnered over 265,000 views.

Prince William, who is a huge advocate for mental health, was quick to issue an apology for not attending the event

Addressed to Prince William, the handwritten letter opened by saying: ‘I am a representative of the Matrix Project, which was set up to shine a spotlight on male mental health. The group consists of boys aged 11-14 who meet weekly to develop ideas and projects.

‘We are contacting you in the hope that you will support our campaign #AmIManlyEnough? which aims to tackle the stigma that “girls cry and boys get mad”.

‘Through our work, we discovered that suicide is the biggest killer in young males and this won’t change until people start the conversation.’

The letter continued: ‘On Tuesday the 10th October 2023, as part of World Mental Health Day, we are hosting a soft launch of our campaign and would love you to join us as a VIP.

‘The event which runs from 9.30-10.30am, will include a short presentation, a preview of our campaign video and more information about how you can get involved.’ 

Prince William, who is a huge advocate for mental health, was quick to issue an apology for not attending the event. 

He and Kate were already committed to a royal engagement in Birmingham on World Mental Health Day.

The couple hosted a forum for young people, called Exploring our Emotional Worlds, which focused on the importance of understanding emotions and building positive relationships. 

William and Kate were in Birmingham hosting a forum for young people, called Exploring our Emotional Worlds, which focused on the importance of understanding emotions and building positive relationships

The event featured contributions from TV doctor, Alex George, BBC Radio 1 presenter, Katie Thistleton and the Founding Director of Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Marc Brackett PhD.

During the outing, Their Royal Highnesses joined young people as they participated in a series of workshops being run in partnership with The Mix, a leading youth mental health charity.

In a rare public speech, the Princess spoke of how ‘deeply’ she and William cared about the cause.

In 2016, the couple launched Heads Together, a campaign that helped break the stigma around mental health, and encouraged more people to have everyday conversations about it.

Kate, who was personally keen to speak at the event, told her audience: ‘Alongside the efforts of many others, we have seen real change. Today, more people feel empowered to talk about their mental health than ever before. This is a major step forward.

‘William and I continue to be inspired to see young people, like you all here today, leading this charge – being particularly brave in having some of those conversations yourselves.

‘As a generation, you value and talk more about your mental health than any before you – something we truly admire and applaud.

‘It is important, however, to remind ourselves of the big picture as we meet here today. What are we trying to improve by focusing our efforts on mental health? Ultimately, we are working to build a happier, healthier world.

‘We want to shape fairer, safer, kinder, more equal societies – societies that seek the common good and a better future together.

‘For just as we need to restore, protect, and invest in our planet, so we must also restore, protect, and invest in the communities, relationships and people living on it.’