The Duke of Cambridge celebrated Emergency Services Day with a visit to Dockhead Fire Station in South London, where he met with emergency responders and members of the public who have received life-saving support.
The Kensington Royal social media accounts shared photos of William meeting with the first responders and the public. These included five-year-old Lila and the ambulance technician and firefighters—Charlotte Speers, Marc Rustage, and James Knight—who resuscitated her after she collapsed.
Prince William also met with Ravi, who was saved by members of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution Scarborough team, after he was dragged out to sea and forced to float for an hour while waiting for rescue.
The Duke also met with PC Ryan Legge and PC Ahmet Mavitunali of the Emergency Police Team, North West BCU, who saved a little girl named Noura from injuries received by her father and Mariam, who was rescued from the eighth floor of the New Providence Wharf Building by London Fire earlier this year.
William later convened a meeting with first responders at Kensington Palace to discuss mental health and suicide prevention ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day on Friday, 10 September.
Kensington Palace noted that the meeting was a result of “the Emergency Responder Senior Leaders Board,” which William and the Royal Foundation assembled last year that brings together “leaders from across all of the UK’s emergency services to work collaboratively on the issue of mental health and ensure that all emergency responders receive the support they need.”
William established the board following a recommendation from a research project in 2018 that looked at the mental health and wellbeing of emergency responders in the UK and how the Royal Foundation could best serve the community.
Emergency Services Day, or 999 Day, is held annually on 9 September to thank emergency responders across the United Kingdom.
