The Prince and Princess of Wales, alongside the Anna Freud Centre, mark World Mental Health Day

Their Royal Highnesses The Prince and Princess of Wales led a discussion with campaigners and experts in the field of mental health. The Princess of Wales is Patron of the Anna Freud Centre. The discussion looked specifically at the challenges and opportunities young people face when it comes to their mental wellbeing.

The Prince and Princess of Wales met Dr Abigail Miranda, Head of Early Years and Prevention at the Anna Freud Centre; António Ferreria, a mental health activist who was diagnosed with Undifferentiated Schizophrenia and Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder as a teenager; Ben Cowley, a registered Music Therapist and Assistant Mental Health Advisor for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; and Emma Hardwell, a Youth Participation Officer at The Mix, as well as Newsbeat presenter Pria Rai.

The Prince and Princess of Wales previously visited Radio 1 in April 2017, when they paid a surprise visit to Adele Roberts who was running the marathon in aid of Heads Together, the pioneering mental health campaign led by Their Royal Highnesses which involved the Anna Freud Centre, encouraging people to feel comfortable to speak openly about their mental health. Mental health continues to be an important element of Their Royal Highnesses work with The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales.       

Head of Early Years and Prevention at the Anna Freud Centre, Dr Abigail Miranda, said: “It was wonderful to discuss the importance of the early years, support networks for parents, behaviour as communication, and a ‘toolbox’ of ideas to support mental health. Thank you to The Prince and Princess of Wales and BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat for giving us the opportunity to highlight and talk about these important issues on World Mental Health Day.”

Head of BBC Radio 1, Aled Haydn Jones, said: “It’s been fantastic to welcome The Prince and Princess of Wales back to our studios to discuss something that is so close to both their and our audience’s hearts. What was discussed will resonate with so many of our listeners and it means so much to us that we can all work together to help tackle the stigma around this issue.”

The discussion will be broadcast on Tuesday 11 October at 12.45pm and 5.45pm on BBC Radio 1 and will be available on BBC Sounds.