Days before Meghan Markle talked of suicidal thoughts, William and Kate's helpline saved boy, 12, from suicide
Just days ahead of Meghan Markle's '60 minutes' tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Kensington Royal Instagram account posted a clip of Prince William and Kate Middleton talking to the parents of a 12-year-old boy who was talked out of suicide through their helpline Shout 85258.
Incidentally enough, Meghan herself also revealed in her '60 Minutes' interview with Winfrey how she battled suicidal thoughts ahead of the highly publicized Megxit, owing to the British media and tabloids' constant criticism and scrutiny towards the mixed-race, former actress.
In the clip, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are heard speakign to the parents of the young boy, monikered Jack to keep his identity a secret. The little boy contacted Shout 85258 when he contemplated taking his own life, and once the professionals were able to talk him out of it, his parents showered the royal couple with praise for saving their son's life.
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In the heartbreaking call, Jack revealed to the helpline that he was standing on a bridge. The crisis line was started by the couple in May 2019 as part of their Heads Together mental health campaign, and heard from Jack's father that the schoolboy had experienced difficulties after the first lockdown, and "started to talk around the phrase, 'I’m feeling anxious'."
During their call with Jack's parents, when the Duchess asked where this anxiety was coming from, his mother said her son, 'inquisitive' since very young, "didn’t just worry about when we were getting back to school, but also the future of the planet and really big things. I think that was overwhelming for him."
To this Kate responded saying "I can’t imagine, obviously as parents ourselves, what it’s been like for you, and it’s every parent’s worst nightmare to receive the call that you did on that night." Once the helpline were able to talk Jack out of his situation, the police rang the family to tell them their young son was safe and doing well. Later during their call, Jack's father also told the Duke and Duchess: "We have no doubt that what happened between Shout [and him] when he was stood on that bridge was enough to save his life."
As a confidential, 24/7 text service, Shout 85258 is a network of around 2400 trained volunteers that connects people suffering from suicidal thoughts, bullying, and relationship issues among other things. The organisation is also supported by clinical supervisors and has proven critical to over 265,000 texters across the UK, providing services through more than 630,000 conversations with people in need.
However, just two days after the video made it to the Kensington Royal account, Meghan spoke out about her own battle with suicidal thoughts during her pregnancy with Archie, while she was still staying with the royal family. “I just didn’t want to be alive anymore,” she told Winfrey about months of bullying from the press, and not being allowed to leave the house. “And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember — I remember how he just cradled me.” Meghan also allegedly sought help from a senior royal about potentially seeking help and inpatient care, but was denied anything whatsoever as it “wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
These allegations came among a string of others, including those surrounding conversations about hwo dark her son Archie's skin was going to be. She refrained from taking any names as it would be damaging to the royals. Meghan also clarified that contrary to what British media had reported at the time, it was Kate who had made her cry over the flower girl dresses, and not the other way round. The interview aired in the US as a '60 Minutes' special on Sunday, March 7, at 8 pm ET/PT and 7pm CT.