Prince Harry makes emotional plea for mental health support after ‘lonely’ trip to Britain

Prince Harry kicked off his Nigeria tour with wife Meghan Markle with an emotional speech during a visit to Lights Academy school.

The Duke of Sussex reflected on the importance of speaking up for mental health and accepting grief and sadness as real emotions.

“In some places around the world, there is more of a stigma towards mental health than you would believe,” he began. “A lot of people don’t want to talk about it because it’s invisible, it’s in your mind and we can’t see it.”

“But think, every single person in this room, from the youngest to the oldest, every single person is mentally healthy.

“So, you have to take care of yourself to be able to help other people, other people have to take care of themselves to be able to take care of you. That’s how it works,” the prince said.

He encouraged viewers to accept their feelings, including sentiments such as “today is a bad day”.

“That you woke up sad this morning, that you left school stressed,” Harry continued. “That you have lost a loved one in your family and you don’t know who to contact or who to talk to.

“All these things, you may have been led to believe, are not up for discussion.

“We’re here today to tell you that’s not the case,” he said.

The speech came after Harry’s three-day visit to Britain, where his busy schedule prevented him from meeting King Charles, who is suffering from cancer.

Furthermore, no members of the royal family attended the Invictus Games service at St Paul’s Cathedral, despite being invited by the Duke.