Prince William met a 12-year-old pupil today in a surprise visit to the teenager’s school, following a letter he sent to the heir to the British throne last year, which he also published on the X platform .
In 2023, Freddie Hadley invited the future king to a presentation he was going to give with other students at his school, research related to mental health, knowing William’s interest in the subject.
He also posted the message on World Mental Health Day last October, telling the prince about an initiative he and his friends had been thinking up at the school in Rowley Regis, Sandwell.
To his delight, William responded, broadcasting at the time: “Hello Freddie, I’m so sorry Catherine and I can’t be with you and the rest of the students at St Michael’s today. Addressing the challenges of mental health and the stigmas that surround it head on is so important. Please continue this important work.”
Freddie’s letter clearly had a profound effect on William, who asked his team to secretly arrange a visit to the school at his next public engagements in the West Midlands.
Today, the student and his classmates got the surprise of a lifetime when the Prince of Wales arrived in their class.
Prince William, at his first public engagements after the announcement of Princess Kate’s cancer
Last week, Prince William took part in a public engagement for the first time since his wife, Kate Middleton, revealed that she had started preventive chemotherapy sessions against cancer.
In a video message released last month, the 42-year-old Princess of Wales announced that medical tests after major abdominal surgery she underwent in January had detected the presence of cancer, a discovery about which Catherine said was “a huge shock”.
Prince William has not attended any official engagements since then, as the British royal couple and their three children try to manage the impact the news has had on them.
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