Prince William and Kate Middleton’s mental health campaign Heads Together has offered guidance on ‘kindness and self-care’ during the pandemic as it launched the UK’s first ever Instagram Guides.
The Duke, 37, and Duchess of Cambridge, 38, set up the Heads Together initiative alongside Prince Harry, 35, in 2016 with The Royal Foundation, with the aim of changing the national conversation on mental wellbeing.
Now Heads Together have partnered with Instagram to launch the UK’s first ever ‘Instagram Guides’, with the new feature on the site allowing accounts to pull together a collection of images and videos onto one page.
Announcing the news yesterday, Heads Together revealed they would be sharing guides on three topics, with help ranging from ‘kindness’ and ‘self care’ to tips on ‘talking about how we feel’.
Kate Middleton, 38, and Prince William’s, 37, royal initiative Heads Together have announced a partnership with Instagram as the organisation launches the UK’s first ever Instagram Guides
Taking to Instagram, the campaign posted: ‘In support of #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, we’re ridiculously excited to announce our new partnership with @instagram and launch the UK’s first Instagram Guides.
The caption went on: ‘The Heads Together Wellbeing Guides have been created in partnership with our charity partners, content creators and mental health advocates who do so much to change the conversation on mental health in the UK.
‘Our guides are packed full of stories, videos, tips, ideas and advice to remind you that we’re all connected and that however you’re feeling, and whatever you’re going through, you are not alone.’
Heads Together launched three separate guides yesterday as part of Mental Health Awareness Week on topics including ‘talking about how we feel’, ‘self-care’ and ‘kindness’.
The royal campaign, which the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge set up with Prince Harry, 35, in 2016, has shared three guides to mark Mental Health Awareness week, with various content curated for the guides (pictured, an illustration featured in the ‘self care’ guide)
Each guide is a compilation of around 30 Instagram posts and videos from accounts like the Heads Together page, their charity partners and mental health advocates and influencers from across Instagram.
Content included in the guides includes help from mental health advocates like Jada Sezer, influencer Zoe Sugg and Love Island’s Doctor Alex.
And further images and videos shared as part of the guides includes instructions for mindful breathing, clips advocating for the importance of exercise and tips for being a good listener.
Each of the three guides features the Mental Health Minute clip of Kate and Prince William which was released yesterday as the couple encouraged people to talk about their feelings.
The Heads Together account became the first in the UK to launch the feature on the social media site yesterday (pictured, one of the guides)
The clip was shared after the Duke and Duchess urged listeners to speak out about their mental health in a radio broadcast for Heads Together.
As part of a minute-long message recorded in their Norfolk home, Kate told listeners that it is ‘okay to ask’ how a loved one is coping while Prince William urged people to ‘reach out’ to someone who might need support.
The Mental Health Minute, which was broadcast across all UK stations at 10.59am, also featured contributions from boxer Anthony Joshua, footballer Harry Kane, pop star Dua Lipa and actor David Tennant.
As part of the broadcast, The Duke of Cambridge said: ‘We’re all connected. And sometimes just talking about how you’re feeling can make a big difference. So right now, let’s join together across the UK and reach out to someone.’
It comes after Prince William and Kate joined together to share The Mental Health Minute yesterday to speak about the importance of talking about your feelings
The Duchess of Cambridge said: ‘If you’re struggling, it’s important to talk about it. Or if someone you know is acting differently, it’s OK to ask how they are. Use this moment to send a message.’
Prince Harry joined Prince William and Kate to launch Heads Together in 2016, with the project remaining one of their shared commitments after Megxit.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex left the joint Royal Foundation with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last year, but it was said at the time that there would be future collaboration on Heads Together.
The latest launch comes days after the one-year anniversary of Heads Together’s legacy project, Shout, a free text messaging service which provides 24/7 support for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis.