WILLIAM'S CALL TO TACKLE THIS 'PREVENTABLE TRAGEDY'

Emotional prince pledges £1m for network to stop 'heartbreaking' suicides

- Emily Ferguson

PRINCE William fought back tears as he backed plans to tackle suicide, while listening to a woman whose son and husband died just five days apart.

William, 43, was profoundly moved as he said to widow Rhian Mannings: "The best way to prevent suicide is to talk about it."

The new National Suicide Prevention Network will be supported by £1million from William and Kate's foundation to address what the prince called the "heartbreaking" tragedy of suicide. Film of their moving meeting was released on World Mental Health Day yesterday.

The Prince of Wales said of the new scheme: “I have had the privilege of meeting all of the founding partners to see firsthand their powerful community-based efforts to offer hope and support to those who need it most.”

He continued: “Their efforts reaffirm the urgent mission of the National Suicide Prevention Network: to build a bold, unified national response to the heartbreaking — and preventable — tragedy of suicide.”

William, who has long fought against mental health stigma, visited Rhian’s Cardiff home this month. They first met in 2017 in his Heads Together campaign, launched with his wife and brother.

She had endured unimaginable heartache when her one-year-old son George died in 2012 after a seizure and her husband Paul died by suicide just five days later.

In the frank discussion, Rhian — who set up the charity 2wish to support families affected by the sudden death of a child — spoke about devastating loss and the unanswered questions that remain.

Sitting down for tea and Welsh cakes at her kitchen table, William asked if she had experienced any stigma due to Paul’s death.

Rhian, 48, replied: “I was quite surprised by it. I'd never been touched by suicide, it was something that happened in the news.