Prince William has described rising suicide rates among men in the UK as a “national catastrophe”, urging greater openness around mental health and calling for stronger male role models to speak out.
In a special episode of BBC Radio 1’s Life Hacks with Greg James, the Prince of Wales addressed the issue of male suicide, reflecting candidly on his own emotional wellbeing and the need to normalise conversations about mental health.
“We need more male role models” willing to talk publicly about their struggles, he said, so that open discussion becomes “second nature to us all”.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), suicide was the leading cause of death among young people aged 20 to 34 in England and Wales in 2024 — a statistic that continues to alarm public health experts.
William, who has long championed mental health awareness, said self-reflection plays an essential role in maintaining wellbeing.
“I take a long time trying to understand my emotions and why I feel like I do, and I feel like that’s a really important process to do every now and again, to check in with yourself and work out why you’re feeling like you do.
“Sometimes there’s an obvious explanation, sometimes there isn’t. I think that idea that mental health crisis is temporary [is important] – you can have a strong mental health crisis moment but it will pass.”
The Royal Foundation is contributing £1 million towards developing a National Suicide Prevention Network, aimed at strengthening support services across the UK.
The Prince encouraged listeners to “learn to love yourself and understand yourself”, describing mental health charities as “that little stepping stone” that can help people navigate difficult periods.
“And if we talk about that more, and educate people more, then hopefully the idea of suicide keeps being pushed further and further away. Because you know that tomorrow, you might wake up and you might feel very different.”
When asked whether his own children speak openly about their feelings, he joked: “Sometimes too much. I get all the details, which I love; it’s amazing.”
The programme also featured rapper Professor Green, whose real name is Stephen Manderson. The artist has campaigned on mental health for years and previously spoke in a BBC documentary about losing his father to suicide.
He said he wanted to remind listeners “that these conversations are important to have and it’s OK to have them”.
“I’ve got a little boy and I hate to think of him growing up in a world where he doesn’t have a circle of friends that he knows he can go to, or services that he knows he can access if in a time of need, at a time when he perhaps doesn’t have me,” he said.
Professor Green, a supporter of the suicide prevention charity Calm, described William’s involvement as “incredibly important”.
“Not least of all because of the openness that he shows up with, which I don’t think people would necessarily expect,” he said.
“But he’s obviously gone through his own life of suffering and experience and things he’s seen first-hand. And I just think it enables us to shine such a light on something that people will otherwise just avoid.”
Prince William’s intervention adds further weight to ongoing efforts to address mental health inequality and male suicide rates across Britain. Campaigners continue to argue that stigma, social pressures and limited emotional expression among men remain major barriers to seeking help.
With suicide still the leading cause of death for young men in England and Wales, the Prince’s call for cultural change and increased public dialogue underscores what he described as a crisis that demands urgent national attention.