The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex launch Shout

• Free text messaging service aims to provide 24/7 support for anyone experiencing mental health crisis
• New national service, established by Mental Health Innovations in partnership with Crisis Text Line, supported by The Royal Foundation, and viewed as a part of Heads Together legacy
• The Duke of Cambridge uses a video message to call on people to join the national volunteer community.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have today 10th May announced the launch of Shout, a new text messaging helpline that supports people in crisis.

Shout operates 24/7 and connects people in need to trained volunteers who provide help at a time when it is most needed; enabling them to move from a moment of crisis to a calm state and form a plan for next steps to find longer-term support. As texting is private and silent, it opens up a whole new way to find help. It provides instant support – you can have a conversation at any time – at school, at home, on the bus, anywhere. This service is for everyone, but for younger people especially, texting is a trusted and familiar form of communication, and using text rather than apps makes it simple and accessible for everyone with a phone.

Shout is powered by a team of volunteers who are at the heart of the service. They are trained to create a safe space for people experiencing mental health challenges. The programme is unique with the training and volunteering all done online, under the supervision of qualified clinicians. Working remotely, volunteers are part of a supportive and connected online community of 1,000, with the ambition of boosting that community to 4,000 by the end of the year.

In a video The Duke of Cambridge launched an appeal for people to apply as volunteers. Applicants should be over 18, have access to a computer and secure internet connection and be able to commit to 25 hours initial training and make an ongoing commitment to volunteer two to four hours each week.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: “We are incredibly excited to be launching this service, knowing it has the potential to reach thousands of vulnerable people every day. Over the last few months Shout has started working quietly behind the scenes. We have all been able to see the service working up close and are so excited for its future.

“At the heart of this service will be an incredible national volunteer community, one which needs to grow to allow us to support more people in crisis. We hope that many more of you will join us and be part of something very special.”

Victoria Hornby, Chief Executive Officer, Mental Health Innovations, said: “The Heads Together campaign highlighted the desire for greater openness around mental health. We know that tools are needed to have conversations about mental health and to support people in times of crisis. At Shout, we are using technology to provide a safe space for anyone who needs it to have conversations wherever they are and whenever they need someone to talk to. We also want to make it easier for people to volunteer, to ensure this service can continue to grow and reach those who need it. Through conversations with our charity partners, the sector agrees that demand for help and advice is growing as the urgent crisis in mental health continues in the UK. The success of Crisis Text Line in the US speaks for itself and we hope that it will prove equally beneficial to the mental health support services sector in the UK.”

The launch of Shout in the UK is a result of the commitment made by Their Royal Highnesses during their Heads Together campaign to support conversations on mental health. Shout was researched and developed within Their Royal Highnesses charity The Royal Foundation, which initiated conversations with Crisis Text Line in the US about bringing this proven model to the UK. This is the biggest initiative of The Royal Foundation to date and led to Mental Health Innovations (MHI) being established in October 2017 with a £3 million grant. MHI is the first charity dedicated to digital innovation to support mental health and will develop emerging technology for the sector.

Lorraine Heggessey, CEO of The Royal Foundation said: “Our unique model and the influence of Their Royal Highnesses has enabled us to develop this innovative solution to tackle one of today’s biggest challenges – the increasing number of people needing mental health support. The pilot stages have demonstrated the huge need for this service and the potential impact it can have. We wish all the volunteers and everyone in the Shout team every success as they build this pioneering project.”

Crisis Text Line has been operating in the US since August 2013, and has processed over 100 million messages since inception. It’s founder and CEO Nancy Lublin sits on the board of Shout Crisis Text Line in the UK.

Nancy Lublin, Founder and CEO Crisis Text Line, said: “We are proud of the work Crisis Text Line and our Crisis Counselors has done in the United States to ease the pain of Americans. If other world leaders will follow the lead of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, together, we can end this epidemic of emotional crisis.”

MHI has committed to providing the support of Shout to a wide range of mental health charities to increase the capacity and the efficiency of the sector. Working with charity partners over the past year, Shout has already supported more than 60,000 conversations in its first year. The first charity to partner with Shout to deliver the service to its users was The Mix, the UK’s leading support service for young people.

Chris Martin, Chief Executive Officer, The Mix, said: “As the UK’s only wholly digital support service for young people we know just how important it is to provide help in the online spaces that young people turn to first. By working with Mental Health Innovations and Crisis Text Line we are proud to have helped to launch this innovative, volunteer led service to UK, ensuring young people have the lifesaving opportunity to get immediate crisis support through The Mix. Crisis Messenger massively compliments our early intervention approach through digital and – by engaging with young people at scale – offers us the opportunity to gain insight some of the drivers behind poor mental health.”

MHI has partnered with the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London to develop insights into mental health and to enable us to collaboratively build the next generations of digital tools and products for mental health. The service will provide unparalleled, up to date information for academics, clinicians and the mental health sector more generally.

Professor The Lord Darzi of Denham, Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, said: “There is a growing UK mental health crisis, with soaring demand outstripping the capacity of traditional sources of help. At the same time, the rapid growth of digital innovations in health is opening up a host of new opportunities to respond. The exciting partnership between the Institute of Global Health Innovation and Mental Health Innovations provides a unique opportunity to identify trends and harness the power of these digital tools to help shape the provision of these critical services.”

BBC Children in Need have been a core founding donor as part of A Million & Me, a new £10m three-year programme that will focus on children’s mental health. We are also grateful for the support of The Mohn Westlake Foundation.

For information about Shout, and volunteering opportunities please visit www.giveusashout.org.

A speech delivered by The Duke of Sussex at the official launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020

Your Royal Highness Princess Margriet, Competitors, Supporters, Family and friends, I am obviously delighted to be here today to help mark the countdown to The Invictus Games The Hague 2020.

When we launched the first Invictus Games in 2014 I knew that these men and women, who had given it their all in service to their country, would now do the same on the sports field, inspiring millions of people around the world and changing mindsets around disability forever.

I had seen first-hand the transformative power of sport in helping people physically and psychologically recover and knew that the Invictus Games would change lives, capture hearts and inspire a generation, the Invictus generation.

Now here we are, launching the countdown to the fifth Invictus Games and I am absolutely thrilled that many more wounded, injured and sick Servicemen and women will have the opportunity to continue their journey to recovery.

Our mental fitness is the key, because without it we fail to operate efficiently; but with it your physical performance and potential are exponentially improved and we have witnessed this over and over again.

Right now, thousands of hopeful competitors around the world are training hard, putting the hours in and aiming to represent their country once again at next years’ Games. 19 nations will be represented here, standing shoulder to shoulder, and showing the world what teamwork, friendship and loyalty really means.

In these challenging times these values are more important than ever.

Being here today in Zuiderpark, meeting you and your family and friends, reminds us not only what these Games mean to the competitors, but also of the impact they have on the wider public. It is your resilience, your determination and your courage which draw crowds in their thousands. Leaving them feeling more inspired, moved and proud than they ever thought possible. You have already proved – anything is possible.

The Netherlands have supported the Games from the very beginning – I think we can all clearly remember seeing a sea of orange in the crowds in London, Orlando, Toronto and Sydney, as well as hearing you!

And today’s visit has given me a real taste of what competitors and their family and friends can expect next year. I know that once again you will fully get behind the Servicemen and women who have represented their countries so bravely, and that everyone watching here and around the world won’t want to miss a single moment of these Games…. make these Games your own, we chose you for a reason, and it wasn’t just coz I like the colour orange!

Thank you all for guarding the Invictus spirit and see you in 2020!

THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX NAME THEIR BABY

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are delighted to announce that they have named their son Archie Harrison.

The baby will be known as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

This afternoon Their Royal Highnesses introduced Her Majesty The Queen to her eighth great-grandchild at Windsor Castle. The Duke of Edinburgh and The Duchess’ mother were also present for this special occasion.

“It’s magic, it’s pretty amazing, and I have the two best guys in the world so I’m really happy,” The Duchess of Sussex said.

“He has the sweetest temperament, he’s really calm and has just been a dream. It’s been a special couple of days.”

THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE TO LAUNCH THE KING’S CUP REGATTA

Tuesday 7th May, 2019

• The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will go head to head in a major sailing regatta race this summer in support of Their Royal Highnesses’ charitable causes
• Each boat taking part will represent one of eight charities and the winning team will be awarded the historic trophy The King’s Cup

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will host the inaugural regatta The King’s Cup this summer to raise awareness and funds for eight of Their Royal Highnesses’ patronages.

The event, which will take place on Friday 9^th August on the Isle of Wight, will see The Duke and Duchess go head to head as skippers of individual sailing boats, in an eight boat regatta race. The winning team will be awarded The King’s Cup, a historic trophy first presented by King George V at Cowes’ Royal Yacht Squadron in 1920.

The eight boats taking part in The King’s Cup will each represent one of the charities that are being supported this year by Their Royal Highnesses. These include Child Bereavement UK, Centrepoint, the London Air Ambulance Charity 30th Anniversary Campaign, and Tusk – four causes of which The Duke is Patron. The Duchess will support four of her patronages: Action on Addiction, Place2Be, the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, and The Royal Foundation in connection with Her Royal Highness’s work on Early Years.

The Duke and Duchess are strong advocates for sport, and have undertaken work both in the UK and overseas to highlight the positive impact that sport can have on the individual and within local communities. The Duchess in particular champions how the benefits of sport, nature and the outdoors can impact childhood development, and lead to improved physical and mental wellbeing for all. Their Royal Highnesses hope that The King’s Cup will become an annual event, bringing greater awareness to the wider benefits of sport, whist also raising support and funds for the causes that The Duke and Duchess support.

The King’s Cup, which is being sponsored by Land Rover, will take place ahead of Lendy Cowes Week. Members of the public can watch the race from the SailGP Race Village along Cowes foreshore, which is free to access and will include an 800-seater grandstand. Footage from the race will play on screens across the town and there will be a number of family-friendly activities and exhibits to promote sailing around the event, including initiatives and programmes for children and young people.

The King’s Cup will be officially launched on Tuesday 7^th May at an event at the Cutty Sark attended by Their Royal Highnesses. On arrival, The Duke and Duchess will join children and young people from a number of their chosen charities as they take part in a simulated sailing race, before joining guests to unveil The King’s Cup.

THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex was safely delivered of a son at 0526hrs.

The baby weighs 7lbs 3oz.

The Duke of Sussex was present for the birth.

The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Earl Spencer have been informed and are delighted with the news.

The Duchess’s mother, Doria Ragland, who is overjoyed by the arrival of her first grandchild, is with Their Royal Highnesses at Frogmore Cottage.

Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.