‘Did I do enough?’: Prince William recalls ‘terrifying’ encounter with troubled youth that still haunts him

Prince William has opened up about one of the more “terrifying” aspects of his job, recalling an experience at a youth center that left him questioning whether he did enough to help.

For context, the future king once served as a volunteer for a youth crisis center named Shout, a round-the-clock text messaging helpline developed by his Royal Foundation and launched in 2020. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that William briefly manned some of the text lines, and he has since revealed (per The Mirror) that “those conversations lived with me for quite a long time afterwards.” The Prince of Wales recalled his experience while speaking to members of a youth advisory board during an engagement in west London.

“You always say to yourself, ‘Did I give enough, did I do enough, did I find the right answer?’” William said. He went on to admit that it was his initial volunteering session that stuck with him the most, saying “the first one was quite terrifying.” The royal made the admissions while paying a visit to his Royal Foundation-created charity Mental Health Innovations, which merged with the digital youth support service, The Mix, last year. While there, William expressed concern around the increasing number of young people in need of assistance.

He also questioned members of the youth advisory board around whether the age range of those seeking help has gotten younger, and was disheartened to learn that children as young as eight had used the service to discuss self-harm and suicidal thoughts. “We are digging into some of the real bad things in society,” William said in response. Shout was created by Prince William alongside his wife, Kate Middleton, as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. 

“As texting is private and silent, it opens up a whole new way to find help,” William said of the service upon its launch. “You can have a conversation anywhere, at any time: at school, at home, anywhere.” Even back then, William had expressed the difficulty that comes with volunteering in this particular sector, describing the experience as “challenging” due to the “difficult conversations” that range from “suicidal thoughts to bullying, abuse, sexuality, self-harm, and relationships.”

It is one of multiple youth-centered projects launched by the Prince and Princess of Wales in recent years. For her part, Middleton is the figurehead of the Shaping Us Framework, which aims to develop social and emotional skills in early education. Last month, the initiative took Middleton on an excursion with school students to the National Art Gallery in London, during which she reportedly dropped her royal “Princess” title to be a school helper for the day. 

More broadly, Middleton’s philanthropic efforts have included advocacy for increased support for early-years childcare costs, and destigmatizing mental ill-health in children. Meanwhile, across the pond, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were involved in relief efforts for the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year, which led to the postponed release of Markle’s new Netflix lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan. Middleton has reportedly been working to mend the relationship between her husband and brother-in-law, but unfortunately to no avail.