Prince William: Visited school to which students invited him last year | Marie Claire

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O prince william continues his work to highlight issues and try to improve young people’s mental health – and shows that you never know what might come from a media post of social network.

The Prince of Wales, while his wife continues her treatment for the cancer, he visited a school that had caught his attention for its students’ award-winning initiatives. In fact, he was in Birmingham on April 25 and St. Michael’s Church of England High School in Sandwell.

The school gained royal attention after his letter 12 year old Freddie Hadley to Prince William and Princess Kate, which was shared at social media for World Mental Health Day in October 2023.

Freddie invited the pair to the launch of his school team’s AmIManlyEnough campaign, writing: “Through our work, we’ve found that suicide is the biggest cause of death in young men, and that won’t change until people start the conversation.”

Prince William personally responded to the letter on X (formerly Twitter) writing: “Good evening Freddie, I am very sorry that Katherine and I cannot be with you and the rest of the students at St Michael’s today. Tackling the challenges and stigma of mental health head on is so important, please continue this important work.”

The Prince of Wales signed the tweet with a “W”, a sign that the note came directly from him and not his team.

“Your letter took place”, the prince told Freddie Hadley, 12, from Sandwell, West Midlands, when they met on Thursday, April 25.

They then discussed how Freddie and his classmates at school talk about their feelings.

The heir to the throne saw first-hand the work of the Matrix Project, which Freddie highlighted in his letter for bringing together boys aged 11 to 14 in weekly meetings that develop ideas and plans to tackle mental health challenges.

The representative of the British royal family attended a session and told how the group launched the AmIManlyEnough campaign last year to encourages the boys to communicate more about their feelings and to tackle the stigma of mental health.

Freddie told PEOPLE it was a huge shock to see Prince William arrive at his school. “I couldn’t see who it was – I thought it was just security. When he started to approach, I thought: “This is Prince William” and I was very shocked. It ‘s crazy”.

Despite his surprise, Freddie later said he had no doubt the prince would visit because of his dedication to mental health awareness.

“He’s a very nice guy,” said the student.

“When I sat down with him about what we’re doing at school with the Matrix Project, I felt more comfortable and I felt like I got into the way he thinks about it. He asked us why we do what we do and why he’s an advocate for men’s mental health.

He told us what he realizes from working with mental health charities – being a man himself – that he has been through these things in the past. He realizes that it’s such a huge issue in today’s society and he wanted to step forward and address these issues.”

Apologies for Kate’s absence

The heir to the British crown told one of the school’s staff: “I’m sorry Kate couldn’t be here too. She would love it. A lot of people send me letters but Freddy’s was really well written. I promised I would come.”

This is the first time since the announcement of Kate Middleton’s illness that the prince has referred to his wife in public. It is also the first time since the announcement of Kate’s cancer that the heir to the throne has performed royal duties outside the British capital.

In January 2023 the future queen was laid head of the campaign “Shaping Us”, which aims to inform the public about the importance of the first five years in a child’s life and their decisive role in their subsequent development as an adult.

Both Prince William and Ms princess kate have made promoting mental health a priority for much of their public life. Together with Prince Harry, they spearheaded the successful ‘Heads Together’ campaign, which focused on raising awareness of the mental challenges many people face.

Ever since Kate Middleton announced on March 22 that he was undergoing treatment for cancerWilliam cut back on his public duties, making sure he was at home as much as possible for the couple’s three children – Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, who turned six birthday on April 23rd