Prince William Shows Emotion While Discussing the Psychological Impact of Suicide

SadaNews - British Prince William fought back tears while discussing the devastating psychological impact of suicide with a woman whose husband took his own life, during a short film released by the British Royal Office today (Friday) in observance of World Mental Health Day.

The heir to the British throne spoke in the film with Ryan Mannings, whose husband Paul committed suicide five days after the sudden death of their young son, George, due to illness in 2012, at their home in Cardiff. They discussed the need for better support for those who have been devastated by suicide or affected by it in their lives, according to the Reuters news agency.

Mannings founded the "Two Wish" charity to help those who have experienced the bitter loss of an unexpected death of a child or a young person.

Prince William's emotions were evident after he asked her what she would say to her husband.

Mannings replied, saying, "I would just want to sit him down like this and say to him: why didn’t you come to me? Because he missed out on so much joy, and we would have been okay. I think that’s the hardest part... we would have been fine." Her response moved the prince to fight back tears.

Mannings asked him, "Are you okay?" and Prince William responded, saying, "I’m sorry... it’s hard to ask questions like that."

She then said to him, "No, it’s okay. The thing is, you have children... it’s hard... and you’ve also experienced the meaning of loss before."

Last year, William attended the funeral of Thomas Kingston, the son-in-law of Prince Michael "Duke of Kent," a cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth, who took his own life after suffering side effects from medication.

The film was broadcast alongside the launch of the Royal Foundation - the charity of William and his wife Kate - of the national suicide prevention network, which focuses on understanding the causes of the issue and providing support.

Prince William's office noted that the UK sees over 7,000 suicide cases every year.