It does feel like I’ve been ignoring Prince Harry, right? I didn’t mean to. It’s just that he’s so consistently awesome these days, and I feel like sometimes you guys might be tired of Honking For Harry. So, what has Harry been up to recently? He’s doing consistent events every week, but he’s not always getting attention and coverage for the events. Over the weekend, he hosted a barbecue for Heads Together, the mental health umbrella organization he started with William and Kate. William and Kate did not attend the BBQ, even though it went down at Kensington Palace. Harry spent a lot of time with mental health care providers and people struggling with mental health issues. Harry even spoke about how he wish he had started talking about his mother’s death much sooner.
Prince Harry has revealed that he regrets ‘not talking’ about the death of his mother Princess Diana for much of his life. Speaking with former football star Rio Ferdinand, who lost his wife to cancer last year, Harry, 31, discussed bereavement at a Kensington Palace barbecue for mental health campaign group Heads Together. The young royal discussed the impact the Princess of Wales’ death in 1997, when Harry was 12, has had on him when asked by Ferdinand how he coped with the loss.
The prince admitted that it was only three years ago that he began to open up about how he felt about losing his mother, saying he didn’t speak about Diana’s death ‘for the first 28 years of my life.’ He said he’d come to realise that talking was the key: ‘It is OK to suffer, but as long as you talk about it. It is not a weakness. Weakness is having a problem and not recognising it and not solving that problem. A lot of people think if you’ve got a job, if you’ve got financial security, if you’ve got a family, you’ve got a house, all that sort of stuff, everyone seems to think that is all you need and you are absolutely fine to deal with stuff.’
‘It is very easy for someone to look at someone like Rio Ferdinand and say, “You get paid all the money in the world, you are a successful footballer, you have fast cars.” But at the end of the day his wife was snatched from him at an early stage of his life with her. So of course he is going to suffer, it doesn’t matter if he has an amazing job.’
The prince said the ‘key message’ is that ‘anyone can suffer from mental health problems, whether you’re a member of the Royal Family, whether you’re a soldier, whether you’re a sports star, whether you’re a team sport, individual sport, whether you’re a white van driver, whether you’re a mother, father, a child, it doesn’t really matter. What you’ve had to go through in your day, week, year, (the) experience you’ve had – whether it’s losing a parent, whether it’s depression, whether it’s anxiety, whatever it is – you are actually unbelievably similar to each other in the way you have to deal with it.’
I just love him. And notice that his message seems contrary to the often-bungled message from the Duchess of Cambridge, who often seems to indicate that mental health issues mostly occur when children don’t have two parents and a home. Harry’s message is universal. And I like how personal he is, talking about his mother and how he closed up and didn’t talk about her death for sixteen years. While talking (and talk therapy) doesn’t solve every mental health problem, it’s the first step and just talking about it and de-stigmatizing mental health issues is a great thing. It’s a shame that Will and Kate wanted to go sailing instead.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
*Honk* *sigh*
yes! Honking for Harry! His speech at the AIDS conference was great as well 🙂
Now if only Prince and Princess Lazykins would learn a thing or two from him …
I guess that’s asking for too much
So I’ll just honk for Harry again !
HONK HONK HONKITY HOOOOOOOOONK!!!!
Always honking for Harry <3
ALL the Honks! <3
HONKITY HONKITY HOONNK!!
All the honks and all the sighs. His speech was heartbreaking and honest and beautiful, just like him. Wish I had a daughter to sic on him! 😉
Crikey! That’s sad and unhealthy, but very British. Stiff upper lip, old chap. I imagine the Royal culture cultivated by the Queen and Charles compounded his reticence
–TheRealPinky
Unfortunately, his reaction is not limited to the British culture (if it was, we would just change the culture and be done with it), it is something that people all over the planet do when something painful and out of their control happens, like death. Some people talk about the pain, others don’t.
Either way, the pain doesn’t go away and the old saying ‘time heals everything’ is not really valid here. The pain just gets worse every year as you go on with living your life and understanding more and more exactly what you lost. However, the trick is managing it all.
I am glad Harry decided to talk in order to help others. This way, maybe he can make a difference.
My father died suddenly when I was 22 and my brother was 14. It’s been 20 years now and he’s finally gone into therapy. Everyone deals with death differently. I can’t imagine how difficult Harry’s situation must have been since everything was so public. I don’t follow the Royal Family but I do love Harry.
@als #Truth… My youngest sister died on July 28 2001, she was only 19. I have never really talked about it but I am finding these past few years I wake up in tears. Time has made it harder, maybe I should have been talking about that loss..
I’m so sorry Jodica! My old love just lost his 19 year old son in March. I can’t imagine that kind of pain. Sending hugs!
Jodika–Sorry for your enormous loss. I am sure sharing some of those pent up feelings will help you. The key is finding the person to share them with, I think. For me, I think it would be someone who experienced the same loss or someone who has also lost a younger sibling. Whatever happens, I wish you real healing going forward!
I lost a sibling when I was 14. It’s like losing a limb. I don’t know whether things have changed, but at the time all the attention went to my parents, especially my mother … as profound as her grief was, sibling loss can be under-appreciated and untended. I send my sympathy to my fellow commenters. Eventually I found someone who really, really listened and got a lot of it out. And then I married him. People who are willing to fully listen to grief for however long it lasts are rare.
Isn’t there a society of Compassionate Friends that listens when no one else will?
First, my condolences to everyone on this thread who’s lost a loved one and can relate to Harry’s message. It’s never easy to go through that.
I lost my mother in my late 20s. About two weeks after the funeral, my husband (my highschool sweetheart whom I’d been with for over 10 years at that point) saw my eyes tearing up and asked me when I was going to get over it and move on. I didn’t say anything to him in response, but deep in my heart I knew my marriage was over. And a few years later, it was.
The hardest thing for me now is that my kids (different partner) never got to meet my parents, as my dad died when I was pregnant with my firstborn. But I follow Warren Zevon’s excellent advice from the last song on his last album before he died: “keep me in your heart for a while”. I share stories and photos of my parents and grandparents with them, so that they know where at least some of the family craziness comes from.
Oh, and for the record: I will NEVER tire of honking for Harry.
@Poisonous Lookalike I was watching Warren Zevon’s last interview with David Letterman before he died and when David asked him what he knows about life and death that the rest of us don’t know, Warren said “enjoy every sandwich.” David joked that I guess it’s good that Warren knows just as little about life and death as everyone else. But maybe he got it right. We can just enjoy the moment we have. Maybe it doesn’t have to be more profound than that. Anyway, “enjoy every sandwich” became part of a title for one of his albums after his death. And I’m sorry your first husband said that thing to you. Glad you got rid of him.
Honks and hugs for Harry!
HONK! *swoon* #hearteyesemoji
I wanna makeout with him and make him forget his mother 😉😉😉 Love you, Harry.
Oh how I respect your cheekiness! “I wanna make out with him,” bwwwwaaahahahahahaha! “Make out” brought me right back to the 1990s.
Get in line, friend, GET IN LINE. 😛
ALLLLLLLLL the honks for the ginger snap prince!
Yes, very nice to see him being not-Kate and not implying that poor people are rubbish parents and cause mental ill health in their own children, rather than poverty being a stressor that can aggravate mental ill health.
I’m beginning, slowly, to like Rio Ferdinand. He’s had his share of “ahem” and more than “ahem” incidents but he does seem to be working pretty hard at turning it and himself around.
My husband’s a huge EPL fan, and of course he told me when Rio’s wife died. Such a horrible loss, but I’m also relieved to hear he’s stepping up for all those babies.
Like I say, he’s had a fair few ouch moments on the edges of the rather unpleasant footballer culture we have here, but Ferdinand really does seem to have stepped up of late. Good on him.
I’m honking for Harry!
We will never tire of honking for Harry!!!!
THIS is the kind of message Chutney should be giving – instead of encouraging the stigma with her ‘only poor families have children with mental health issues’ rubbish.
It must really call the Buckets that he gets all the good press.
I love him.
HONKHONKHOOOOONK for Harry! This man has so much charisma, every new speech I fall a bit more in love! I want to be his bestie 🙂 I really want to like Will and Kate, but they are making it hard. What was the point of doing this joint mental health awareness campaign if they don’t actually do any of the events with our Ginger Prince??
I agree with everything you said! Harry has it – charm, grace, personality, awareness, sense of humor… he’s just got IT.
I started out really liking Will and Kate, but not so much anymore. They both pale in comparison to Harry in so, so many ways.
It’s fascinating how he doesn’t seem to give a crap about coordinating messages with the other two. I don’t think it’s intentional either, he just approaches these charities in a completely different way. Everything W&K say and do seems incredibly staged and rehearsed and just … well, like it’s their job. That’s fine and I’m sure Harry doesn’t come up with this stuff on the spot either. But my god, people, we can all tell your hearts aren’t in it, especially when you have THIS one competing with you. And it is a competition at this point, no? He makes them look so so bad just by showing up. It entertains me every time.
Except for Kate and William, it is their job and the scrutiny they are under is far more exacting than Harry. Of course Kate and William are going to be rehearsed, because if they screw up, it is the future King and Queen of England screwing up. If Harry screws up, it’s just Harry, lovable second brother with little to no responsibility. I know people on this site love to vilify WIlliam and Kate because they don’t do enough, he’s bald, she wears too much eye liner, blah blah blah and some of it is justified — they could definitely do a lot more than they already do, but they also have all the pressure. Harry has none.
Harry has plenty of pressure and expectation placed on him.
If Will Kat were seen as dedicated and hardworking, minor mishaps would be quickly forgotten. It is because they do so little that every move is magnified.
I think the problem with William speaking on mental health issues is that Kate has a hard time genuinely connecting with them, and William is too closed off and guarded to do so.
Well, for one he IS under pressure. Come on. He’s not the spare anymore but he also can’t just f*ck off to a beach somewhere 12 months of the year. His role isn’t defined, he has to come up with the things he wants to do himself. And that’s a privilege but it’s also not like nobody pays attention to him.
Second, I’m not vilifying W&K. They ARE behaving like lazy entitled brats though, who can deny that? But that wasn’t even my point. All I’m saying is, they always seem like they’re doing everyone a favor if they show up anywhere for 30 minutes and that’s just terrible preparation and attitude. Fake it for god’s sake. Act like you’re super thankful to meet everyone. And if it’s such a burden, give it up but then how would they finance that lifestyle? If you’re in it, commit to it. Go all in. Hire someone who helps you fake it because right now, little bro makes you look terrible.
@Kate – the press goes out of their way to protect them. If you’re just now seeing negative press it’s because it’s gotten that bad.
Harry has never been protected as much (re: his Vegas naked pic vs Kate’s naked sunbathing in France) and he was raised and treated as the spare his whole life. Look at Prince Andrew – I’m sure at some point he was more popular than Charles (better looking, war hero, etc) and now the press and pubic villify him. That’s exactly what Harry is set up against and why he needs to think everything more carefully than either Kate and William, especially if/when he marries and has children (I hope we can all avoid the little games the press subjects Beatrice and Eugenie to)
@Kate – Harry has NONE?! That’s a complete understatement. Yes, Harry is seen as the “carefree, younger brother who will not have to be King” but that doesn’t mean he’s had no pressure. The Vegas incident? The Nazi incident? The P*ki incident? The marijuana incident? He’s messed up, plenty. But it just so happens Harry’s mistakes were YEARS ago (except Vegas 2012 – but that was just dumb as opposed to truly offensive). Unfortunately, W&K are continuing to make mistakes now. As we continue into the “tender ages” of the early-mid thirties. Think about Kate’s dress flying up NUMEROUS times, and within the past year she JUST fixed that problem.
And as far as this state: “…because if they screw up, it is the future King and Queen of England screwing up.” THIS is why Will grew up with FAR more protection from the press and BRF than Harry. One of the reasons Harry grew up with the image of the troublemaking younger brother is because his mistakes were broadcast while Will’s were not. And this treatment extends to their significant others which is why Kate got relatively light criticism during her dating years and Chelsy got BOMBARDED.
@Cee, I don’t think Harry will be the next Andrew.
@ Kitty – Me neither, but he needs to think everything he does in order to avoid it. Diana’s memory protects him as much as it does William.
@cee and @HH oddly enough (or not) the nazi story got brought up again by, I believe, the Daily Mail yesterday. I shared the link on the W&K story yesterday, but it wasn’t approved.
@Lady A – That’s disappointing. It was over a decade ago and Harry got bombarded for that already; and repeatedly and sincerely apologized. I’m not trying to make excuses or be overly sympathetic because that incident was BEYOND stupid and offensive. However, paraphrasing Dan Savage, when someone truly learns from their mistakes you congratulate them and move on; you don’t keep harping on them for the time they were wrong.
@HH – the saddest part is that William was there too, and he did not tell his brother “hey, you’re wearing a Nazi insignia. You might want to change.”* Nobody in the press bothered to point this out.
*(of course he could have said something and still Harry could have chosen to keep the costume, but that goes against what we know of Harry, the way he works and behaves).
I don’t want to imagine how many similar stories about William were burried in order to protect his image.
Agreed @HH
When it occurred, it was a really dense choice. If he was still making similar choices, would any of us be here honking? 😀
I just found it really strange that the adam brought up that old chestnut right on the heels of H leading a brilliant BBQ for HT instead of taking a holiday…
Remember, the shopkeeper is on record saying William picked out that costume for his brother and goaded him into choosing it. Harry made the mistake of doing it. but William wasn’t innocent. Initial press reports were that Charles was furious at both, but only Harry ended up being punished.
Also on record? William asked for an “African Native” costume and was disappointed the shop was out of them. He made his own costume using animal skins from one of the royal residences along with wearing black tights. The press reported it as “a lion costume” and ignored what the shopkeeper admitted about William.
It all adds up to another example of William being protected by the press and Harry getting a double dose of criticism.
@nota – That’s interesting info. I don’t remember hearing about that.
Also, what I find incredibly odd was that no one really focused on the FREAKING THEME which was: Colonials and Natives. WTF?! That’s the poshest, most offensive theme I could think of, aside from inserting racial slurs.
No one cares if Proness Anne makes a mistake, or wears something unlovely or says something wrong. Why don’t they? Because she does so many fucintions, a mess up once in a while is understandable. Yet Kate and Will do so little and still screw it up! And please – yes, she has scrutiny, (he has less) but there are a zillion pluses that go along with it, so my heart isn’t breaking for them.
Great comment Littlemissnaughty, ITA!
Honk to infinity!!!!!!! How could anyone get tired of Harry?
I love Harry,he is just so down to earth.He is the only person in the BRF since his mom that actually cares and takes the time for his charities.The Dolittle’s only do charity drop ins when their being called workshy.Harry gets good press because he is real and honest, the Dolittle’s are insincere, awkward, cold.If you didn’t know any better you would think harry was the heir to the throne cause he is always front and center working.
Harry is a warm, charismatic man, and a great asset to his charities. There are a number of members of the British Royal Family besides Harry who are very dedicated to their charities, such as the Princess Royal, who has dedicated her life to working with Save the Children, both before, during, and after Diana’s time.
I know Princess Anne does a lot work for her charities and she doesn’t get all the press .Princess Anne does a wonderful job. I was just saying out of the younger royals Harry is the the only one who seems to actually put in the work with his charities .William is officially a Middleton, their work ethic is non existent. They barely do any engagements unless the get called out for being work shy.
Sorry.
@Person, you have nothing to be sorry for .Thanks for pointing that out .I like Princess Anne and prince harry .Have a wonderful day!
I heard about this on tv and heard Waity and Wills were out sailing the same day… Funny how its meant to be a charity all three of them are involved in yet only one bothers to turn up. Still, at least it’s the ‘right’ one, the one who seems to actually care and be genuine.
Yup.
When you’re a kid daydreaming about a prince, it is all palaces, jet setting, whirlwind romance. This is SO much better. Vulnerability and passion coupled with hard work and genuine caring. He’s delicious.
Our HONKS shall never tire!!!!!
He’s the only one of the three making any sense of what mental illness means to people. We all suffere differently, but pain is universal. Struggles are universal. Some need theraphy, others need therapy+medicine.
When Kate made that first speech about “bad” parents inflicting these illnesses on their children, especially in poor families, as if rich people were immune to it, I thought she was joking. But it’s sad that an ADVOCATE is stigmatizing and furthering the stereotype of mental illness, si ‘m glad Harry actually shows up for this and is coherent about the subject.
Yep and its a message that she has repeated on more than one occasion – she said the same thing in a speech for Place2Be. I think she was trying to relate her own upbringing but as usual with Chutney she was way of mark and came across as patronising.
I am aware there can be isolated cases, but I know of two people from very wealthy, “normal” families, tried to commit suicided multiple times. What helped them? Theraphy and medication. Now they’re happy and healthy.
She’s definitely unqualified to talk about this, mainly because she doesn’t bother to learn about it.
@ Cee You’d think with all that money and resource, at least she can hire someone to write out better speeches and responses in advance? The only conclusion I can come to is, she probably reads pre-prepared notes and lets everything pass through her head without leaving a trace before going to events.
@ Grace – that’s even worse because it shows she has no common sense or logic.
I do not expect her to go to uni and become a psychologist or suddenly be very experienced in this topic, but I do expect more than what she has delivered, especially since her message is always off base and very stigmatizing to a group of society stigmatized enough.
Somehow I missed that Kate actually said this. It’s HORRIFYING. I hope she was called on it. Jesus.
@GingerCrunch – she wasn’t. Nobody in the press questioned her statements.
@ Cee Yes, it shows the lack of common sense. And nobody questioned in the press probably because they expected nothing better. Showing up for charities every other moon alone is already plenty of effort for Kate, I imagine. It’s upsetting to think someone who was given the platform she had could be so tone-deaf, yet unashamed.
I think what Kate was trying to say is lower income families may face more challenges in accessing resources for mental illness. Unfortunately, she can neither write nor deliver a speech, so it came out as some bizarre jumble about how being poor causes mental illness.
If she actually gave a hoot, she would hire a professional speechwriter who is educated on the issue and rehearse before she steps in from of the mic. But don’t hold your breath. She has made it clear she isn’t into making an effort.
I agree. I think she just didn’t express herself properly. She should have used her time better all those years she was the girlfriend to acquire the skills that she needs to deliver speeches.
Or she and her staff should have spent more than 15 minutes writing her speech. Should have sent it to the organization for editing and final rewrite to catch all of the BIG mistakes that were made. All things that should have been done, but everything these two do is so slap-dash and last minute and it shows.
Will and Kate are so weird.
Come on ! Never tired of honking for Harry ! He’s become such a good man.
I can’t help but wonder if the official inquiries into his mother’s death also played a big role with regard to Harry staying quiet about his mother’s death. I do recall a tv interview; I think it was NBC’s Matt Lauer approx 10 years ago (please someone correct me if wrong), but anyway Harry said something to the effect that he still wonders (perhaps every day) what exactly happened to his mother? I perceived such a comment as saying he didn’t trust the information from the inquiries and/or was advised to disregard. I don’t know.
In any event, it’s wonderful to see Harry again and I’m glad he feels comfortable enough now to speak about grieving for his mother. Harry will always be able to convey sincerity and honesty to the world unlike the Cambridges. Thank goodness for Harry.
I remember seeing that too.It was right around 2007 the time they had the concert for Diana. I thought it was strange that he said that too.
There are still a lot of answered questions, like what happened to the white car. While I don’t buy into the conspiracy/murder theories, i do think that the French authorities screwed up the investigation and then covered their asses. Personally, i think it was a mix of a drunk/tipsy driver, reckless behaviour by the paps and Dodi Al Fayed (who allegedly had been tipping the paps off for the duration of that holiday – he loved the press attention as much as she did).
First off- sorry to go on, but why all the CCTV cameras were off between the Ritz and the tunnel? That, IMO is most compelling.
The driver was drinking yes, but it IMO the lab results were not accurate and something else aside from the Fiat collision happened in that entry to the tunnel. I suspect someone or something else distracted the driver. Laser beam?
The intention wasn’t to kill them. I think it was a warning.
He is a national treasure. Adorable…..Le sigh….my dream is to share a bottle of wine and a pizza with him under a tree in an English garden….just the two of us in post hang out glow….
Honk forever
Basically I think he will be King in the future. He may not want it, but I think he might.
I think if the Royal Family in England want to survive, Harry better be the next in line or soon after Charles because William will lead to it’s demise. But then again, I don’t think the crown would make Harry happy. He’s perfect right where he is. But the media should be all over him when he’s doing this stuff because IT’S AMAZING and also Will and Kate suck.
I love Harry. Do you also know that he is going to africa to help work on elephant conservation efforts!! If I was a royal I’d be doing what harry does. William is honestly such a poor excuse for a royal, he talks about conservation and then goes on a gaming reserve to shoot animals for fun. Harry is always winning in my books.
Harry is winning in general. I wouldn’t be shocked if the commonwealth and parliament and the people decide HARRY should be King in the future.
For this kind of things is that I’ll never get tired of honking for him.
Watching those two guys grow up over the years, who would have thought that Harry would turn out to be the responsible adult? I mean, relatively speaking. He certainly does more work that William. (Even if, arguably, William’s main job is to keep siring kids.)
No, W&Ks job is not to have children. It is the societal expectation, but not a requirement of their position. There are 1000s of people in line to the throne. If these two hadn’t had kids, it would have been like Belgium where the throne went seamlessly to the king’s nephew.
I’ll take un-elected Harry over elected DT any day.
What an extraordinary man he’s become.
I’ve battled depression since I was 11 years old, on and off. Whenever I feel like I’m weak, I remember: I’ve fought back against my own mind telling me I’m worthless for over 30 years, and have won every time. It makes me feel like a warrior. And every time someone like Harry, or Kristin Bell, or Clara Hughes punch a whole through the stigma, the battle feels a little less lonely.
Doesn’t it? I felt that Robin Williams passing would’ve gone a long way toward de-stigmatizing issues of mental health. And while I don’t feel we’ve made as much progress as I’d like to see, I have noticed more people in the public sphere addressing their own struggles (such as the ones you mentioned). I hope this trend continues.
And bunny, I’m right there with you. I’ve been battling MDD for as long as I can remember, way back into my childhood. I hope that you’ve got the resources you need to get through the tough days. I tell people that MDD feels like the light doesn’t get in. It’s the worst. So I send my best wishes to you in your battle. <3
My mom has gotten a tablet and checks royal things each day now. She was so impressed with Harry doing this the other day she just kept going on about what “a lovely young man he seems to be” and how hard he works in the background.
Honks for Harry x2
This is Diana’s son. He is her embodiment of compassion, kindness and love of public service.
Honks for Harry!
He is the total package what a good human being.
Couldn’t love this man more. He’s the total package.
Honking for Harry – keep em coming!
Ah, sweet Harry! My heart aches for the loss he (and William) suffered when their beautiful mother died. I cannot fathom losing a parent at such a young age. Diana was a special (and flawed) lady, who was clearly loved by her sons. I can vividly recall seeing the pain on the innocent faces of Harry and William as they walked behind her coffin. It’s interesting, though, that it’s Harry who takes after her – personality wise (at least publicly) – when it was apparently William who was closer to her at the time of her death. I think Harry is a very sensitive and brutally honest soul, whereas William is more secretive and emotionally reserved. I think Diana’s death impacted the boys differently but that both boys have handled it the best that they can. I will criticize William for his inability to properly commit to his royal duties, but I will never critique his reaction to his mother’s death.
I hope to see and hear more about Harry’s efforts to remove the stigma of mental health, especially when it comes to grief, which is so often seen as something that should go away or ease over time (which it doesn’t…or at least, not always). I lost my first love in a horrific car accident, when we were 21, and it shattered my mind and heart. I was in so much emotional pain that I felt I couldn’t breathe…or even continue living. (I attempted suicide but thankfully, it didn’t work.) I was desperate to relieve the pain as I was becoming increasingly isolated from people – people who were telling me to “move on”, “get over it” and the usual “time heals all wounds” and he had been dead for only a month at that point. I struggled for a few years after his death and never really had any peace about the situation until 5 years had passed. I wish I had had more support during that time as it was so difficult, but at least I now know I was not alone in my struggle and that even a prince can experience moments of darkness and sorrow.
I’m so sorry for your pain. Wishing you peace.
Thank you <3
We’ll never get sick of honking for Harry
HARRY FOR KING!
Honking for King Harry!
He seems to have really grown up, matured, and found a solid direction in life in the past few years and now it looks like these developments happened when he started to talk about his mother’s death. Cheers to his healing path!
Can’t imagine his feelings of loss. I can barely talk about her passing. It was so sad on so many levels. She raised two beautiful gentlemen.
Honking for Harry – he is a beaut!
What do the names Chutney and Buckets mean for William and Kate? I like all the nicknames this site has for them.
Honking for Harry! I’m glad he’s finally able to talk about his mom. The fact he can now is probably why he seems far more well-adjusted than William. I think it’s a shame the Cambridges didn’t come out to the BBQ. I don’t know why they even glommed onto this issue, when they’ve shown repeatedly they can’t/won’t give it the attention it truly deserves.
It is great that Harry did talk openly ..not to split hairs but the America’s Cup event in the UK was going on during the same time and the Royals are the patrons of the event..etc. which garnered huge interest all over the world for sailing in the UK. Anyway, as a sailor and someone who has been invovled in the event…it would have been impossible for them not to be there. The adage “duty calls” does apply here.
Duty to be at yet another fun yachting event? A “charity” they always find time for when they cannot find time for actual, more challenging royal engagements? Yachting, the America’s Cup, and 1851 charity did not need a royal patron. It was one of the few things they could get Kate Middleton to agree to do, but that doesn’t mean it needed a royal patron or that them showing up gives “huge” attention.
Technically her tie is the 1851 charity NOT sailing itself iirc. Neither of them needed to be there. Why didn’t William attend the Heads Together event with Harry and leave KM to her own solo event? Because Wm wanted to have fun yachting instead of doing something challenging like working the HT event.
Geneva – it is good to hear your perspective since you are into sailing and from that world. But as someone who isn’t, I wondered why Kate would do another sailing event when she did a solo event with Ben Ainslie on 5/27. She doesn’t do many appearances and it seemed to me like she is just goofing off, that might not be the best phrase, but can’t think of a better one.
How sweet of Harry to talk about his personal loss. I’m not tired of honking.
The picnic actually happened on July 14. It was in the Court Circular. Will and Kate had absolutely nothing to do that day. They chose not to attend.
Five years ago, did any of us think Diana’s wild child was going to clean up his act and come off as the less controversial royal figure? Interesting how these things play out. On a more shallow note – he is aging SO MUCH BETTER than William.
In answer to your first statement:
NO!
HONK! #nevergetsold
I love that he can open up now and talk about his own issues because it most certainly helps others who aren’t at that point yet.
Glad Harry was willing to talk about it and I hope that it will go a little way to destigmatizing mental health issues.