Prince William was moved to tears by a grieving widow whose husband committed suicide after the heartbreaking loss of their young son.
William Can Relate To Sudden Tragedy, As He Lost His Mother At Age Fifteen
The royal family typically steers away from expressing their emotions, but William wasn’t afraid to cry over this woman’s heartache and devastating tale.
In a deeply touching conversation to mark World Mental Health Day, William’s voice quietly broke as he spoke to Rhian Mannings.
She told Prince William that she had desperately wished that her husband had expressed his feelings to her before he tragically took his own life.
The couple had lost their one-year-old child, as William had endured tragedy himself. His mother, Princess Diana, was killed in a car accident in Paris in August 1997.
William was only fifteen years old at the time his mother had died. His younger brother, Prince Harry, was only twelve years old.
The future King wears his heart on his sleeve, as his late mother did. He has the same sense of compassion and shares a genuine emotional connection to everyone who comes to him with these stories.
Mannings described the stigma that surrounds suicide and explained that even some of her close friends couldn’t handle her grief and walked away from her at a time when she needed support.
Rhian Mannings Explained That Some OF Her Loved Ones Walked Away From Her When She Needed Support
Mannings told the Daily Mail,
“It was a really important moment because when I think it gets to the stage of the conversation where it gets emotional, a lot of people will shut down and stop.”
She continued,
“People are afraid of upsetting people and are afraid to have conversations that cause distress to other people.”
Mannings shared,
“But it is just so important, so I was just talking about it, he got emotional, which made me emotional, but we continued to talk about it.”
She continued,
“And I think by him being emotional, people will see it’s ok to find it difficult, but that’s not a reason to shy away from it.”
Rhian added,
“By saying nothing to somebody is worse than saying something and getting emotional. Most people just want to know what is going on, they’re afraid to open that can of worms, but once it’s open, for the person talking, it’s easier, and actually it is ok to care.”
She concluded,
“And sometimes if anything, that can really resonate with the person who is talking and opening up.”
Rhian Opened A Charity Called “2 Wish Upon A Star
Little George was Rhian and Paul’s third child. The little boy suffered a seizure and tragically died two hours after he was admitted into the hospital.
It was later discovered that he had been suffering from pneumonia and influenza, which often comes without apparent symptoms.
The couple initially comforted each other, but then Paul began blaming himself, saying he had let his family down.
Rhian grieved over her losses but believed that some good could come of her experience. She was inspired to open a charity called “2 Wish Upon A Star.”
Her charity has helped thousands of others in the Wales area who have suffered the sudden death of a child or young person.
While the pain will always be there, at least she’s able to move forward and help others who have been in the same boat. Yet, her husband’s suicide has left her with many unanswered questions.
William said to Mannings,
“From the families I’ve spoken to who have had to endure suicide, there are a lot of unanswered questions that live with you forever, really, don’t they?”
The Prince just shook his head and held Rhian’s hand and said,
“I’m sorry. It’s hard to ask these questions that I….”
William was visibly struggling with emotion at this point. He said,
“The best way to prevent suicide is to talk about it. Talk about it early, talk about it with your loved ones, those you trust, your friends. So thank you for talking about it.”
The difficult and moving conversation between the Prince and Mannings was captured on video. It launched the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales’s National Suicide Prevention Network.
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