Yesterday, The Duke of Sussex made his ninth visit to Nottingham in support of organisations providing mental health and mentoring programmes to young people. Coming less than 24 hours after the release of a teaser video featuring the Duke and pop star Ed Sheeran, and just two hours after the entire video became available, Prince Harry was on fine form whilst visiting the Nottingham Academy’s Ransom Road Campus and later the Community Recording Studio.
The video begins on a lighthearted note with Ed Sheeran misunderstanding the topic of the video. He believes it to be a spot promoting “ginger acceptance” until Harry informs him that in fact the video is to raise awareness for World Mental Health Day. It ends with the Duke reminding viewers to reach out and check on friends, family, even strangers, to make sure they are doing ok.
“We’re all in this together”, he says.
Prince Harry was quick to follow up his words with action, starting off his day with a visit to the Nottingham Academy, where he was greeted by school administrators and hundreds of students. The Duke, and then-fianceé Meghan Markle, visited the school shortly after their 2017 engagement and Prince Harry was happy to reconnect with pupils he met previously.
EPIC Partners designs and delivers activities, curricula, and mentoring services to prevent young people from becoming involved with youth crime and violence.
The group also provides mental health resources, as the Duke observed as he sat in on a “nurture session” with a group of girls. “There’s a lot of stuff going on in everyone’s lives but it’s important to be able to talk about it”, the Duke said.
He took part in a reading group featuring Barnie, a therapy dog. Speaking to the media, one participant said, “These sessions help me read better because it’s a smaller group and less people around,” and added “Barnie the dog helps us focus on reading.”
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Before departing, the Duke addressed an assembly of year 11 students. He encouraged them be open about their mental health. “It is about looking out for yourself and each other as well. Please look out for each other. I’ve been there, everyone above a certain age has probably been there, but the ingredients are there for an incredibly stressful period in your life,” he said to the group, most of whom face exams in the weeks and months ahead.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Prince Harry was then off to Community Recording Studios (CRS). Founded in 1999, CRS teaches film and video skills as well as music. The organisation also provides access to professional-grade equipment, studio time, and industry networking opportunity. Simply put, CRS’s goal is to “help young people turn their lives around,” according to its web page.
Harry met with performers and was able to see an excerpt from a new Hip Hopera, which features mental health themes throughout the piece.
The Duke of Sussex visited Community Recording Studio (CRS) in St Ann's on Thursday as part of a day of engagements in Nottingham.
Prince Harry met some of the young people who are developing a new Hip Hopera.#PrinceHarry #MentalHealthAwarenessDay #WorldMentalHealthDay pic.twitter.com/JOHgAdBMTT
— The Royal Family Channel (@RoyalFamilyITNP) October 10, 2019
The day turned out to be memorable for one lucky five-year-old off sick from school. Speaking to the media, mum Kate Fox said, “We were at the right place at the right time”, she said. “We just came here to see Prince Harry and William got to shake his hand”.
“I’m not a royal fanatic, but Harry is the one,” she exclaimed. “He’s great.”
