Duchess of Cambridge writes foreword to puzzle book

The Duchess of Cambridge has written the foreword to a puzzle book to be released on 20, October. All proceeds will benefit Heads Together, the campaign which seeks to bust stigmas associated with mental health she founded with her husband, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

The puzzle book contains over 140 pages of puzzles, codes and challenges. The content was created by expert code breakers of the GCHQ, the UK’s Intelligence and Cyber Security agency. The content, according to the GCHQ ranges from: “easy to mind-bending, the challenges include ciphers and substitution codes, tests of numeracy and literacy, as well as picture and music challenges.”

GCHQ Director, Robert Hannigan also wrote a section in the book’s Introduction.

He says: “For nearly one hundred years, the men and women of GCHQ, both civilian and military, have been solving problems. They have done so in pursuit of our mission to keep the United Kingdom safe. GCHQ has a proud history of valuing and supporting individuals who think differently; without them we would be of little value to the country. Not all are geniuses or brilliant mathematicians or famous names, but each is valued for his or her contribution to our mission.”

The idea for the book came about after the immense success of the ‘cryptographic puzzle’ that featured in the Dirrector’s Christmas card. It saw some 600,000 thousand people from around the globe attempt to solve what was called the ‘hardest puzzle in the world’.

In her foreword, the Duchess of Cambridge writes: “I have always been immensely proud of my grandmother, Valerie Glassborow, who worked at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. She and her twin sister, Mary, served with thousands of other young women as part of the great Allied effort to break enemy codes. They hardly ever talked about their wartime service, but we now know just how important the men and women of Bletchley Park were, as they tackled some of the hardest problems facing the country.

“In a new century, their successors at GCHQ continue this intellectual tradition. Like their Bletchley predecessors, they have become well known for valuing and understanding the importance of mental wellbeing. This is so important when dealing with such discretion and the pressure which comes with this.

“William, Harry and I are very grateful that this book is supporting our Heads Together Campaign. I hope it will not only amuse and challenge readers, but help to promote an open discussion of mental health problems, which can affect anyone, regardless of age or background. Together, we are aiming to change the national conversation around mental health from stigma and fear to openness and understanding. Those who buy this book and support the Heads Together campaign will be playing a part in helping people get the important mental health care they deserve.”