Prince William: male suicide rate a great stain on society

In a speech given to the Guild of Health Writers as part of the Royals' Heads Together campaign, Prince William said that the male suicide rate in the UK was a great stain on our society, noting that if another cause had taken so many lives there'd be national outcry.

The Prince spoke to journalists, health writers and charities about his personal connection to the issue of male suicide; his first call out on his job as an Air Ambulance pilot was to a man that had taken his own life.

His comments on suicide as the single biggest killer of men under 45 echoed our short film, "The thing most likely to kill me is me". Read his comments and watch the full speech below:



PRINCE WILLIAM:

For me personally, it was a gradual awakening over many years through work I've been privileged to witness with vulnerable young people - the homeless, the unemployed, those who are unable to fulfil their potential.

But I got interested in mental health for another reason. One that was related to my work as an air ambulance pilot. It was suicide, a subject that is so often hidden.

The suicide rate among young men in this country is an appalling stain on our society. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 40 in this country. Not cancer, not knife crime, not road deaths - suicide.

If one of these other issues took so many young lives, there would be a national outcry.