Kate Middleton is just like us, in that she also attends conferences at the school of her two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, better known at St. Thomas’ Battersea School. The royal children go by George and Charlotte Cambridge, after their father’s title.
People Magazine reported that the first conference before the start of the school year at St. Thomas’ Battersea was about one of Kate’s pet projects: mental health. The meeting, run by award-winning mental health campaigner Hope Virgo, covered everything from body image issues to how pupils can emotionally support each other.
The three-hour session included talks with some of the children at the school to allow them to open up about things that concerned them.
Virgo shared that the Duchess of Cambridge approached her after the conference to chat about the importance of the project.
“Kate came up and personally spoke to me afterward, which was nice. We spoke about the work that I do in schools, particularly for younger people, and we spoke about the importance of early intervention and prevention. She was very chatty and friendly,” Virgo said.
Virgo, who speaks frankly about her own mental health struggles, explains that she wrote her memoir, Stand Tall, Little Girl , in order to talk about her own fight against anorexia.
Virgo explains that at the core of mental health issues, she wants all parents and children to understand the importance of being kind to yourself. In talking with Middleton, Virgo says they chatted about introducing the concept of mental health with young children.
“We ended up talking about how to get young people to think about mental health more broadly,” she said.
Virgo added that she is pleased to see that Kate Middleton and Prince William are also working on their own mental health initiative, Heads Up, with Prince Harry. She believes that the more people who are willing to speak frankly about mental health the better.
The Inquisitr reported that both Kate Middleton and Prince William have discussed that they would just as likely to seek medical attention for their children for mental illness concerns as they would a physical ailment.
Even Kate’s brother, James Middleton, has spoken frankly about his own mental health battle, which came out of his struggles with a learning disability. Middleton says that for years he battled “crippling depression” before he found the right doctor and treatment. He wants everyone to know that nothing makes people immune from mental illness.
