To mark World Mental Health day, the Duke of Sussex returned to Nottingham on October 10 to visit several of the city’s community projects that he has a close connection to.
In his last visit to the city in December 2017, Harry and wife Meghan visited the Nottingham Contemporary for World Aids day, and Nottingham Academy with the Full Effect programme that supports young leaders and mental health in St Ann’s.
However, on October 10 the Duke of Sussex started his day at Nottingham Academy, joining in on a nurture session for girls, before heading to the Community Recording Studio in St Ann’s.
The aim of Harry’s visit was to promote wellbeing and citizenship in the local community, as well as reminding people of the importance of mental health.
Whilst at the Nottingham Academy, Prince Harry sat in on a reading session, also joined by a therapy dog, Barney, to support the school pupils.
The Duke stated that not being able to read can “have a massive effect on mental health” and the pupils praised the presence of a therapy dog for boosting their confidence.
As well as this, the Duke of Sussex also stated in the lesson that “there is stuff going on in everyone’s lives, but it’s important to be able to talk about it.”
Throughout the day, Harry reiterated the importance of talking to others, further supported by his new campaign with British singer Ed Sheeran.
In a video posted to the Duke and Duchess’s royal social media account, Harry announces their campaign for World Mental Health day.
Sheeran jokes that the red-headed pair are set to fight for equality for gingers, whilst Harry declares there has been a misunderstanding and they’ll be campaigning for mental health.
Sheeran is then seen deleting the words ‘Gingers Unite’ from his computer screen before Harry states the real aim of their campaign.
“This World Mental Health Day, reach out, make sure that your friends, strangers – lookout for anybody that might be suffering in silence,” the Duke said.
“There’s no need to suffer in silence, share how you’re feeling, ask how someone is doing and listen for the answer,” he added.
During his visit to Nottingham, Harry also met with local performers at the Community Recording Studio in St Ann’s, a community project that he has supported since 2013, which allows young people to meet artists and make their own music.
Greeted by vast crowds, it’s clear that the Duke of Sussex received a warm welcome from everyone he saw during the day, and hopefully spread his message of mental health awareness as well.
By Faith Pring