Prince William talks about losing his mother in new interview about mental health
'You feel pain like no other pain'
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Your support makes all the difference.The Duke of Cambridge has spoken about the pain losing his mother at a young age in a new BBC One documentary about mental health.
Prince William said he felt a “pain like no other” after the death of Princess Diana in 1997, explaining that the experience has allowed him to identify with others who have suffered from a family bereavement.
“I’ve thought about this a lot, and I’m trying to understand why I feel like I do, but I think when you are bereaved at a very young age, any time really, but particularly at a young age, I can resonate closely to that, you feel pain like no other pain.”
“And you know that in your life it’s going to be very difficult to come across something that’s going to be even worse pain than that,” he continued.
“But it also brings you so close to all those other people out there who have been bereaved.”
The father-of-three went on to speak about the emotional impact of his work as an East Anglian Air Ambulance pilot, which he described as “very raw” in comparison to his work in the military.
“You’re dealing with families who are having the worst news they could ever possibly have on a day-to-day basis,” he said.
“It leaves you with a very depressing, very negative feeling, where you think death is just around the door everywhere I go.
“And that’s quite a burden to carry and feel.”
William also touched on the difficulties some Britons face when it comes to discussing their emotions, saying the “British stiff upper lip thing” has its place, but that people also need to “relax a little bit and be able to talk about our emotions because we’re not robots.”
The BBC programme also features interviews with sporting stars Peter Crouch, Thierry Henry, Danny Rose and England football manager, Gareth Southgate, all of whom discuss the important role of mental fitness in their careers.
A Royal Team Talk: Tackling Mental Health airs on BBC One on Sunday at 10.30pm.
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