Kate and Prince William took part in a heartfelt video call with a group of brave men who shared their personal experiences of reaching out for help shortly after becoming fathers. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge helped to raise awareness of the advice available to men who struggle to adapt to family life and in particular the parenting courses run by the London-based organisation Future Men.
Speaking to a group of new fathers who had reached out to the charity, Kate expressed her disappointment that there were not more services out there and urged anyone who needs guidance to come forward.
The mother-of-three said: “Dads play such an important role it shouldn’t be a bad thing to reach out for help and advice.”
During the emotional chat, William expressed concerns over men who understandably did not know where to begin with fatherhood and explained there is a lack of awareness of the support available.
The 38-year-old also gave a personal insight into family life and insisted he still worries if he is doing things right despite more than seven years’ experience of being a dad.
Speaking to the group via his computer, William asked: “How does Future Men find some of these other guys out there who have not got the realisation, or the wherewithal if you like, to go looking for services like Future Men and be able to build on a happy future as a father?
“Because I worry an awful lot, a lot of dads out there who just don’t know what to do, and they don’t know where to go.
“And they may not have such good – either grounding, foundations or support around them to be able to know what to do.”
In the middle of the important conversation there was an adorable moment as the fathers brought their children onto the call and Kate and William could not hide their excitement.
The royal couple, who have been no strangers to video calls since the pandemic, smile and waved, then Kate said “Hi Liam,”.
The Duchess asked “Is this his first Zoom call?” and moments later the royal couple laughed when they were told it was.
The latest engagement follows on from a number of initiatives supported by the couple to help young families.
Kate, 38, is patron of Action for Children and the early intervention mental health support group Place2Be.
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He said: “I’ve found it pretty testing, not going to lie, trying to keep the children engaged in some kind of work, it’s been an interesting few months.
“I’ve learned through home schooling that my patience is a lot shorter than I thought it was, that’s probably been the biggest eye opener for me, and that my wife has super patience.
“Basically we’re a good team tag session, I come in with the children and try and get them to do something and Catherine comes in when frankly everything has gone wrong.”
