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Family

Anyone who's lost a parent can relate to Prince Harry's candid chat with his brother.

'It's very easy to run away from it, to walk away from it and avoid it the whole time.'

Prince William and Prince Harry are finally opening up about one of the toughest subjects imaginable: the sudden, untimely death of their mother in 1997.

In a new video, live-streamed on the royal family's Facebook page, the two brothers spoke about what they wish they had done differently when they lost their mother in a car accident nearly 20 years ago and why they hope that speaking out will help others experiencing similar loss.

All GIFs from Heads Together/YouTube.

Over the past year, the royal family has been working closely with mental health advocacy group Heads Together to reduce the stigma that surrounds mental illness.

Earlier this week, Harry gave an extremely candid and in-depth interview to The Telegraph's Bryony Gordon about what led him to seek counseling. The following day, William chatted with Lady Gaga for its #OKtoSay series.

Both brothers admitted to bottling up their feelings in the wake of Diana's death.

Listening to Harry struggle even to discuss just how hard it was to let himself think about his mother's death and hearing William's measured, firm, yet loving push to get his brother to that point makes it clear why this issue is so near and dear to their hearts. The royal family has an enormous platform, and they have chosen to use it discuss mental health — their own mental health — one of the hardest things to talk about in private, let alone so publicly.

This isn't easy for them, that much is clear. But 20 years later, following such a tragic loss, they're leading by example, and that is a very welcome thing indeed.

Watch the powerfully earnest conversation below, and learn more about Heads Together on the organization's website.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry #OkToSay film
Please take a moment to watch this new film featuring The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry that has been released as part of the Heads Together campaign's #OkToSay series.The film captures a conversation between Their Royal Highnesses that occurred at Kensington Palace as they looked ahead to this weekend's London Marathon and reflected on the growth of the campaign over the last year.The conversation covers a range of topics including the emotional changes new parents go through, bereavement, the stresses of modern childhood, and dealing with trauma in the workplace.The Duke and Duchess and Prince Harry are incredibly grateful to everyone who has shared their stories in recent weeks. And having asked others to start conversations on mental health with their friends and families, they wanted to show that they are taking part as well. They hope the film shows how positive a conversation on mental health can be.#HeadsTogether
Posted by The Royal Family on Friday, April 21, 2017

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Family

The touching reason Lady Gaga called Prince William to thank him.

Lady Gaga is a big fan of the royal family's mental health awareness campaign — so much so that she gave Prince William a call from her kitchen to thank him for it.

On April 18, 2017, Kensington Palace shared a video of the two candidly FaceTiming across the ocean, chatting about the royal family's Heads Together initiative — an effort to get more people in the U.K. (and elsewhere) to de-stigmatize mental illness and speak up about their own experiences with mental health treatments.

Photo via Kensington Palace/Twitter.

In the video, Gaga — who, in 2016, shared that she's living with PTSD — praised Prince William, Prince Harry, and Princess Kate's efforts on the issue.

The campaign, she noted, has reminded her how much opening up about her own mental health changed her life.

"Even though it was hard," she explained, "it was the best thing that could come out of my mental illness — was to share it with other people."

As Prince William explains in the video, the royal family decided to prioritize mental illness awareness in part because it's such an intersectional topic, affecting other issues like addiction treatment, homelessness, and caring for veterans.

"Most of [these other causes] seemed to stem back to mental health issues," the prince shared.

Many Twitter users applauded the video's message and the duo's joining of forces to take on an important issue:

— (@)

The topic of mental illness is also deeply personal within the royal family.

Just this week, Prince Harry opened up about his own struggles with mental illness years ago, dealing with the death of a parent at a young age as the entire world watched.

There was no magic "fix," of course — no one pill or single trip to a counselor made his mental health struggles disappear, Prince Harry told The Telegraph. But just taking that first (and often most difficult) step — opening up to others — put him on the right path to feeling better.

"The experience I have had," he said, "is that once you start talking about it, you realize that actually you’re part of quite a big club."

Watch Lady Gaga and Prince William's conversation below:

— (@)

Family

The royal family: Mental health is just as important as physical health.

"[Mental health] matters just as much as our physical health," Prince William said at a recent event in London.

"There are times when, whoever we are, it is hard to cope with challenges — and when that happens, being open and honest and asking for help is life-changing."

Photo by Stefan Wermuth-WPA Pool/Getty Images.

Prince William, along with Princess Catherine and Prince Harry, gave important speeches on destigmatizing mental illness on Jan. 17, 2017.

The royals addressed a room full of reporters at the Institute of Contemporary Arts about the necessity for all of us to reach out if we're struggling in silence.

Photo by Stefan Wermuth-WPA Pool/Getty Images.

The three threw the event to support Heads Together, an initiative aimed at prioritizing mental health in Britain and the official charity partner of the 2017 London Marathon.

The royals dropped some serious truths about why this issue matters so much.

Kate explained how talking really can feel like a dose of medicine.

Harry noted why he's looking ahead with lots of hope when it comes to our perceptions of mental health.

And William noted that 2017 could be a big year in changing the conversation around mental illness.

Coincidentally, the message of the royals' Heads Together event is particularly meaningful in the U.S. right now, where the Affordable Care Act is on the chopping block.

The same day William, Kate, and Harry gave their speeches in London, mental health advocates in the United States got some potentially sobering news.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a study that found stripping away key provisions of the Affordable Care Act may cost 18 million people their health insurance in the first year alone, according to The New York Times. That number could tick upward to 32 million throughout the next decade, marking a major reversal in the health care coverage expansion we've seen since Obamacare passed.

This, of course, wouldn't just affect physical health ailments. Many plans provided by Obamacare offered services like depression screenings and included access to physicians who could diagnose and treat conditions like bipolar disorder. Millions of Americans could lose access to these life-changing mental health benefits.

— (@)

While continued destigmatization of mental illness shows great progress, it's also vital that progress is reflected in the laws we live by.

Prince William is right — 2017 can be a major tipping point for helping those in need of mental health services. But we should make sure the right kind of care is available to those brave enough to speak up, too.

Here's how to tell your representative in Washington you think mental health coverage is vital and believe the Affordable Care Act should stay.

Family

The royal family's charming PSA on mental health is a must-watch.

'Mental health is just as important as physical health.'

If you thought President Obama meeting Prince George in his bathrobe was peak royal family cuteness, I have news for you.

Photo by Nicky J. Sims/Getty Images for Royal Foundation.

Prince William, Prince Harry, and Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, pulled on bright blue headbands last week to snap a few pics.

And it, too, was pure delight.

Photo by Nicky J. Sims/Getty Images for Royal Foundation.

It's like they're trying to kill us with cuteness or something.

OK, so maybe the headbands aren't George-meeting-Obama-level adorable. But they're definitely still smile-inducing, right?

William, Kate, and Harry sported the headbands to show their support for a new campaign focused on mental health.

Heads Together — an initiative launched by seven U.K.-based mental health nonprofits — is aimed at breaking down stigma on the issue and raising funds and awareness for charities moving the discussion forward. The campaign is the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon Charity of the Year, which is pretty epic.

The royal family spoke out on the topic near and dear to their hearts in a promotional video for the campaign.

As Kate notes in the video, mental health should be a top priority.

GIF via Heads Together/YouTube.

Harry says that each one of us has a role in making progress.

GIF via Heads Together/YouTube .

And William thinks change is possible if we work as one.

GIF via Heads Together/YouTube .

The royal family chose to focus on mental illness because it's a quiet crisis that intersects with so many other causes they care about.

Nearly one-fifth of American adults — over 43 million people — was living with some form of mental illness in 2014 according to the National Institute of Mental Health. And unfortunately, many of these folks are "challenged doubly" because they not only live with the innate struggles of their illness but also face the harmful stereotypes that create a stigma around their experiences.

This stigma prevents many people from opening up and seeking help when it comes to their mental health.

Kate chats with others who are involved in the Heads Together campaign. Photo by Nicky J. Sims/Getty Images for Royal Foundation.

Mental illness isn't an exclusive issue either, a spokesperson for William, Kate, and Harry told Us Weekly — it plays a major role in so many others:

"Through their work with young people, emergency response, homeless charities, and with veterans, Their Royal Highnesses have seen time and time again that unresolved mental health problems lie at the heart of some of our greatest social challenges."

Promoting mental health may be serious business to the royal family...

...but that doesn't mean there isn't time for some laughs, too.

GIFs via Heads Together/YouTube .

Clearly, adorableness is a prerequisite to being royalty.

Watch the Heads Together campaign video below:

You can learn more about mental illness and how you can get help here.

heads together

Anyone who's lost a parent can relate to Prince Harry's candid chat with his brother.

'It's very easy to run away from it, to walk away from it and avoid it the whole time.'

Prince William and Prince Harry are finally opening up about one of the toughest subjects imaginable: the sudden, untimely death of their mother in 1997.

Over the past year, the royal family has been working closely with mental health advocacy group Heads Together to reduce the stigma that surrounds mental illness.

Watch the powerfully earnest conversation below, and learn more about Heads Together on the organization's website.

The touching reason Lady Gaga called Prince William to thank him.

Lady Gaga is a big fan of the royal family's mental health awareness campaign — so much so that she gave Prince William a call from her kitchen to thank him for it.

In the video, Gaga — who, in 2016, shared that she's living with PTSD — praised Prince William, Prince Harry, and Princess Kate's efforts on the issue.

The topic of mental illness is also deeply personal within the royal family.

Watch Lady Gaga and Prince William's conversation below:

The royal family: Mental health is just as important as physical health.

"[Mental health] matters just as much as our physical health," Prince William said at a recent event in London.

Prince William, along with Princess Catherine and Prince Harry, gave important speeches on destigmatizing mental illness on Jan. 17, 2017.

Kate explained how talking really can feel like a dose of medicine.

Harry noted why he's looking ahead with lots of hope when it comes to our perceptions of mental health.

And William noted that 2017 could be a big year in changing the conversation around mental illness.

Coincidentally, the message of the royals' Heads Together event is particularly meaningful in the U.S. right now, where the Affordable Care Act is on the chopping block.

While continued destigmatization of mental illness shows great progress, it's also vital that progress is reflected in the laws we live by.

The royal family's charming PSA on mental health is a must-watch.

'Mental health is just as important as physical health.'

If you thought President Obama meeting Prince George in his bathrobe was peak royal family cuteness, I have news for you.

Prince William, Prince Harry, and Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, pulled on bright blue headbands last week to snap a few pics.

William, Kate, and Harry sported the headbands to show their support for a new campaign focused on mental health.

The royal family chose to focus on mental illness because it's a quiet crisis that intersects with so many other causes they care about.

Promoting mental health may be serious business to the royal family...

Watch the Heads Together campaign video below:

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