Prince William wants George and Charlotte to talk about their feelings
GETTY The Duke and Duchess want their children to be able to discuss their feelings openly
In an interview rejecting the British tendency towards showing the stiff upper lip, the Duke of Cambridge said that he and the Duchess hoped three-year-old George and Charlotte, who will be two on May 2, would be part of a new generation able to talk about their emotions much more easily. “Catherine and I are clear that we want both George and Charlotte to grow up feeling able to talk about their emotions and feelings,” he said. “Emotional intelligence is key for us all to deal with the complexities of life and relationships.” His comments came a day after his brother Prince Harry revealed that he had received counselling to help overcome his grief at the death of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales on August 31, 1997 after two years of chaos in his life.
The fifth in line to the throne said he sought help when he was 28 after his brother intervened. Harry, 32, said he had "shut down all my emotions" for almost two decades after losing his mother but often felt anxiety during royal engagements and on the verge of punching someone. The Prince, now a much calmer individual, admitted he took up boxing to try to control his aggression but for a long time felt that, living in the public eye, he could be "very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions". In an interview with the Daily Telegraph journalist Bryony Gordon, he said he had spent his teenagers years and early twenties determined not to think about his mother after losing her when he was 12.
GETTY William rejected the British tendency for a stiff upper lip
"I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle," he said.
We want George and Charlotte to grow up feeling able to talk about their emotions Prince William
In the latest interview, William, 34, also hailed the chart-topping British grime and hip hop artist Stormzy for speaking out about his battle with depression. The second in line to the throne, a big fan of rap and hip hop music, enhanced his credentials with a younger generation by singling out one of the hottest new recording artists in the country for praise. He made his comments in an interview that he and Harry did with the magazine of a male suicide prevention charity, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).
GETTY Prince William hailed Stormzy for opening up about his battle with depression
The future King told CALMzine magazine that role models were important in helping young people to speak more openly about mental health problems in an effort to cut the number of young men who commit suicide – the biggest killer of men aged under 45. “The recent interview by Stormzy about his depression was incredibly powerful and will help young men feel that it’s a sign of strength to talk about and look after your mind as well as your body,” William said. “There may be a time and a place for the ‘stiff upper lip’, but not at the expense of your health.” Stormzy – real name Michael Omari, 23, from Croydon, Surrey – discussed his depression in an interview with Channel 4 News on March 1 as his debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer, went to number one in the charts.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte at Christmas Sun, December 25, 2016 Prince George of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, life in pictures. Play slideshow PA 1 of 21 Prince George eats a sweet as he leaves following the morning Christmas Day service
He said his struggle with depression had made him realise how fragile humans were. “I always saw myself as this strong person who just deals with life. I get on with it – and if something gets me low, I pick myself. That’s been my philosophy. Even down to the point where one of my closest friends who was suffering from it, I used to dismiss him,” he added. But then he found himself suffering and decided to go public. “What convinced me to talk about it was the fact that if there’s anyone out there going through it, I think to see that I went through it would help,” he said. William told the quarterly magazine: “For too long there has been a taboo about talking about some important issues. If you were anxious it was because you were weak. If you couldn’t cope with whatever life threw at you, it’s because you were failing. Successful, strong people don’t suffer like that, do they? But of course, we all do.” Asked if the British military had much to answer for in perpetuating the idea of the stiff upper lip, Harry said: “The military is a complex picture as on one hand there is an incredible sense of brotherhood and belonging between you and your mates. You’ll do anything for each other: scrub each other’s boots, drag each other through the mud, anything.
GETTY Prince Harry revealed how he struggled to cope with royal engagements after his mother's death