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Topics: Royal Family, Prince William, TV And Film, Amazon Prime
Jess Hardiman
Topics: Royal Family, Prince William, TV And Film, Amazon Prime
Prince William no doubt keeps himself busy with his various royal duties, which he juggles alongside raising three kids.
But it seems he’s also keen to add a new string to his bow after being announced as a surprise addition to a very popular reality series.
The royal went to speak to young farmers at Folly Farm in Somerset yesterday, hoping to raise awareness of mental health care among the farming community.
As the Duke of Cornwall, William is landlord to duchy farming tenants. He is now also patron of We Are Farming Minds, a charity supported by the duchy of Cornwall that was set up to help farmers experiencing isolation and mental health issues.
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His new patronage builds on the duchy’s rural mental health strategy, which was launched in 2023 and aimed to make the duchy the leading provider of mental health support to all its tenants.
But William wasn’t the only well-known face to show up in Somerset, having been joined by a camera crew and Clarkson’s Farm stars Kaleb Cooper and Charlie Ireland.
Wills told Kaleb that Prince George is a huge fan, but shared a word of warning on behalf of his eldest child.
“You’ve got George watching now,” he said.
“I said to him ‘What shall I say if I meet Kaleb?’”
“He said ‘Tell Kaleb to mind his language’.”
Their time with farmers at Folly Farm will feature in an episode of Clarkson’s Farm, meaning William will be able to impress his son with a cameo appearance - and all for a very important cause.
William also met with duchy tenants Sam and Emily Stables, who set up We Are Farming Minds in 2020 after Sam tried to take his own life following his struggles with his mental health.
“British agriculture is under stress, beyond stress, and we talk about resilience: that’s a big word, and farmers are resilient but… we’re facing a crisis,” Sam warned.
Describing the steps currently being taken to destigmatise mental health issues in the UK, William admitted it was unfortunately ‘probably going to be generational’.
“So with a lot of the work and the research we’ve done, it will take a generation to fix this, but I do think we’re headed the right way, and I’m excited by that journey and that progress,” he said.
William also spoke about the importance of taking a break from screens, adding: “I worry how much we’re on our phones and data… First thing you’re doing when you wake up in the morning, last thing you do at night – check phones.
“We’ve got to get out of that habit, because mentally, that is not good for all of us. Your brain is not resting.”