The Duke of Cambridge has opened up about the memory of his late mother in a new BBC documentary on mental health.
“Having children is the biggest life-changing moment, it really is,” William told former footballer Marvin Sordell of the Bolton Wanderers, who’d been telling the Prince about his own mental health struggles upon becoming a parent after his own father had been absent throughout his childhood.
“I agree with you, I think when you’ve been through something traumatic in life – and that is like you say about your dad not being around, my mother dying when I was younger – your emotions come back in leaps and bounds because it’s a very different phase of life.
“And there’s no one there to, kind of, help you, and I definitely found it very, at times, overwhelming.”
William added that parenthood is “one of the most amazing moments of life but it’s also one of the scariest.”
He revealed that he and Kate work as a team to parent Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and to support each other when they have overwhelming feelings related to parenting, telling Sordell, “Me and Catherine particularly, we support each other and we go through those moments together and we kind of evolve and learn together. But I think emotionally things come out of the blue that you don’t ever expect, or maybe you think you have dealt with.”
The Duke also revealed that he talks about his mother, Diana, constantly with his children as “it’s important that they know who she was and that she existed.”
William has been working on this documentary over the past year as he works to use football to encourage men to open up about their mental health.
“The film follows William as he meets players and fans from grassroots to the elite of the game and openly discusses their mental health challenges,” the BBC said in a press release.
“Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart explains how he has learnt to cope with difficulties at the very top of the game, and a group of bereaved fathers reveal how they use their local football team as a support network and safe space to talk. Former Premier League footballer Marvin Sordell opens up about his struggles with depression, while Chelsea manager Frank Lampard compares life now with his early experiences of professional football.”
Football, Prince William and Our Mental Health will air on BBC One this Thursday, 28 May.
