Prince William
Royals

Prince William reveals ‘sadness’ over work as air ambulance pilot on royal visit

The Duke struggled with mental health

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Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has opened up on mental health.

The royal, 38, said he noticed a huge sense of sadness while serving as an air ambulance pilot.

Visiting Belfast for Emergency Services Day in the UK, William spoke of his own experiences.

He attended a workshop with first responders who discussed how they cope with traumatic emergencies.

prince william mental health
Prince William arriving at the Belfast Police College (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Prince William spoke about his mental health as an ambulance air pilot

William said: “I couldn’t put my finger on it, but you just felt very sad.

“For me it was the sadness, I really felt the sadness, I’d absorb the jobs I’d gone to.

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“Sadly with the Air Ambulance you get a lot of deaths and I didn’t realise (the impact) – I would go to the next one and the next one.”

kate middleton prince william
Prince William with Kate Middleton and their three children (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Prince William visited Belfast to meet leaders of emergency services

On Tuesday (September 8), he convened a meeting with leaders from the emergency services across the UK.

Here he stressed that more emotional support needs to be offered to those serving.

His speech included: “I know first hand, that even in routine circumstances, those of you on the frontline can face immense challenges that can naturally have a significant impact on both your physical and mental health.

Prince William visited Belfast to meet leaders of emergency services (Credit: SplashNews.com)

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“Firstly, it’s important that we recognise that. And secondly, it’s important that we do all we can to support you through it.”

This is not the first time the second-in-line to the throne has discussed mental health.

He, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry set up Heads Together in 2016.

Catherine, William + Harry | Heads Together | #oktosay

He has discussed his own mental health issues on several occasions since.

Prince William helps run mental health charity Heads Together

In 2019, he talked about the pain he suffered from losing his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.

Appearing on Royal Team Talk: Tackling Mental Health, he said: “I’ve thought about this a lot, and I’m trying to understand why I feel like I do, but I think when you are bereaved at a very young age, any time really, but particularly at a young age, I can resonate closely to that, you feel pain like no other pain.

“I felt that with a few jobs that I did, there were particular personal resonation with the families that I was dealing with.”

He also said working in the ambulance world he was encouraged to speak openly about his feelings.

He added: “That raw emotion… I could feel it brewing up inside me and I could feel it was going to take its toll and be a real problem. I had to speak about it.”

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor