Prince William recently surprised a woman holding a charity walk to raise mental health awareness.
On Thursday 7 December, Emma Webb posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on day 13 of her charity walk from Wales to London in honour of her daughter, Brodie, who died from suicide when she was 16 in March 2020.
In Webb’s post she is seen pulling a life-size plastic horse, named Miles, because of how much her daughter loved horseback riding, before the Prince of Wales jumps up next to her in a town near London and says “Boo.” Webb looked shocked as she placed her hands over her mouth before giving the royal a hug. “So day 13…and this happened,” her caption read on X. “How very, very kind and supportive. Keep watching for the biggest surprise.”
William went on to share a post of his own to the social media platform. “What an incredible thing Emma is doing to raise awareness of youth suicide, in memory of her daughter Brodie. Very special to be able to join her for part of her journey this morning,” he wrote, signing the post W.
When speaking to the Daily Mail, Webb explained that she knew the Prince of Wales knew about her charity walk, but never expected him to show up. “I was aware that he’d seen what I was doing on the news, but I wasn’t aware that he was going to turn up on the streets of Slough and walk with me, so it was amazing! He appeared from behind the horse and shouted, ‘Boo,’ at me!” she told the outlet.
“I turned around, and I was just gobsmacked that he was stood there. Me, a little old Welsh lady from Newport with a plastic horse and the Prince of Wales is just stood in front of me!”
She continued: “I didn’t really know what to do when I saw him. He put his arms out and I thought, ‘Right, I’m going to have a nice hug,’ so he gave me a nice hug, or a Welsh cwtch! To have a hug from the future king, it’s just unthinkable, it was like an out-of-body experience.”
The two of them even talked about the difficulties her team has had along their journey including walking through mud, ice and along narrow towpaths — resulting in bits of Miles breaking off — but how kind strangers have always been ready to help her.
Webb had been with another mother who also lost her daughter to suicide during that portion of the walk. She said William and the mother talked about mental health, suicide prevention and their loved ones for around 20 minutes. He even helped out by pulling Miles.
“For Prince William to come out and recognise what we’re trying to do ... it’s just amazing,” Webb told the Daily Mail. “You can’t get a more supportive backer than the Prince of Wales, so it really means everything to me that he came out today.”
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
