Prince William goes on rowing excursion for Mental Health Awareness Week

The Prince of Wales has found a very active way to raise awareness for Mental Health Awareness Week.

Prince William joined the Royal Navy, HMS Oardacious, on their Dorney Lake rowing trip to mark the significance of the week.

The prince’s voting video

The prince appeared in a video released on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official YouTube channel on Sunday.

The HMS Oardacious is comprised of crews of submariners competing in a race to row across the Atlantic ocean.

The tradition started in 2019 and aims to raise awareness and funds for the support of mental health for submariners and their families.

Prince William is the Commander-in-Chief of the Submarine Service, and while in Buckinghamshire, the prince met with Lieutenant Commander Hugo Mitchell-Heggs, who is planning to lead his team in the Atlantic race in December.

Prince William met with the group of seafarers and after some chit chat, he asked if they were ready to get on the lake.

“The likelihood of me slapping somebody else’s oar is more likely that it’s going to happen,” the prince joked.

The post-lake session

After the time on the lake, the group went to Eton College’s Rowing Centre, where the prince sat down with the group to talk about dealing with stress.

“We focus so much on our physical health but actually, acknowledging that psychological health is the same [importance],” Mitchell-Heggs said. “Everyone gets anxiety to various degrees. If you engage with it and have things in your back pocket to address those things one by one, you’re in a much better position to [show] your potential.”

“You have to have a certain mentality to do your job,” the prince interjected.

“You’re in a metal tube for months on end,” the lieutenant continued. “Lots of your life’s pleasures are away, you don’t have sunlight or fresh air. You go from being a civilian to this whole new world where you’re working with shipmates and a whole new dynamic.”

Prince William chimed in again to emphasize the importance of having a support system.

“Understanding our support networks is crucial because a lot of people don’t have those support networks,” he said. “I think in the military, we’re very good at forming close bonds and realizing the only way we’re going to get through all this is by helping each other.”