Kate Middleton, Prince William Unveil Plan to Help Neighbors Nearby Their Country Home, Anmer Hall, Ahead of Holidays

The Prince and Princess of Wales are teaming up with a local mental health charity to help the rural and farming community in Norfolk

Kate Middleton and Prince William are reaching out to help their neighbors ahead of the holidays.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are bringing their mission to aid mental well-being to the rural and farming communities close to their country home, Anmer Hall, in Norfolk.

William and Kate, both 42, have announced they are teaming up with a mental health charity, Norfolk and Waveney Mind. It aims to provide additional mental health support to communities in the area, “including, but not limited to, those living and working on the Sandringham estate,” their office at Kensington Palace said.

The palace added that evidence “suggests a strong need for further mental health support for rural and farming communities across the U.K.” as “rural isolation and poor mental health are still widespread” across the U.K. A farmer loses their battle with mental health each week, the palace continued.

The couple, who headed to Anmer Hall on the royal family’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk as soon as their three children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, finished school on Dec. 13, have long campaigned for better mental health and awareness about wellbeing.

The pilot initiative, which will start in early 2025, is co-funded by the couple’s Royal Foundation and the Prudence Trust. It includes plans for face-to-face counselling and drop-in sessions and sessions for different members of the community, including parent and toddler groups, menopause groups and men’s groups.

Sonja Chilvers, interim CEO of Norfolk and Waveney Mind, said in a statement on Dec. 20: “We are all too aware of the specific mental health challenges faced by people in rural settings, particularly those in the farming community. We’re delighted to be working with the Prince and Princess of Wales, who know our Northwest Norfolk communities well, and we are keen to see the difference that this pilot will make to local people’s mental health.”

“Our innovative new partnership will drive proactive outreach and preventative measures to the whole community and form a vital step in better protecting the wellbeing of local people,” she added. “If successful, it could be used as an example and replicated in other rural estates and communities across the U.K.”

She continued, “Delivering these new services is part of an exciting series of developments for our charity in Northwest Norfolk as we also prepare to launch our new-look Talking Therapies service from our REST Heacham site, opening up free counselling for people experiencing anxiety and depression.”