Prince Harry Hosts BBQ, Says He ‘Regrets’ Not Speaking of Mother’s Death Earlier

As part of the Heads Together mental health campaign, Prince Harry has hosted a BBQ in the gardens of Kensington Palace with a number of British sports stars in attendance who have experience with mental health battles.

After flipping burgers and sausages with sprinter Iwan Thomas, Harry spoke with football star Rio Ferdinand about the grief of losing a parent at a young age (Ferdinand’s wife passed away last year after a battle with cancer, their three children are under the age of 10). “Everything can be OK. You know, I really regret not ever talking about it [his mother, Princess Diana’s, death in 1997],” Prince Harry said to the retired player, revealing he only began speaking of his loss when he was 28.

Prince Harry flips burgers at Kensington Palace BBQ in support of his mental health campaign https://t.co/ZX6mXF09Vr pic.twitter.com/0iA6Z1hSdJ

— HELLO! US (@hellomagUS) July 26, 2016

He later said that “it’s OK to suffer, as long as you talk about it. It’s not a weakness. Weakness is having a problem and not recognising it and not solving that problem….The key message here today is that everyone can suffer from mental health [problems], whether you’re a member of the royal family, whether you’re a soldier, whether you’re a sports star … whether you’re a white van driver, whether you’re a mother, a father, a child. You can suffer.”

Others attending the BBQ were Olympians Dame Kelly Holmes and Victoria Pendleton.

Prince Harry hosts a BBQ for @heads_together with sports stars to talk mental health. Here's what they had to say…https://t.co/nQhrLKwI4t

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) July 25, 2016

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Mental Health, Prince Harry of Wales, Sport.