Prince William Discussed the Unusual Way He Deals With Anxiety

london, england january 21 prince william, duke of cambridge, president of united for wildlife, makes a speech during the meeting of the united for wildlife taskforces at st james palace on january 21, 2020 in london, england photo by victoria jones wpa poolgetty images

(Image credit: WPA Pool)

published 28 May 2020

Prince William's BBC documentary on men's mental health, titled Football, Prince William and Our Mental Health, will air tonight in the U.K.
In the documentary, William speaks about his own experience of anxiety when speaking in public.
He explains that not wearing contact lenses prevents him from seeing people's faces, making public speeches less challenging.

Prince William's latest documentary on mental health will air in the U.K. tonight on BBC One. Titled Football, Prince William and Our Mental Health, the documentary will see William speak to soccer players and fans across the U.K., with the aim of confronting the stigma associated with men's mental health.

In a preview clip released by the BBC, William discusses his own experiences of anxiety when speaking in public. "Certain days, especially certain speeches as well when I was growing up, you definitely get a bit of anxiety," he says.

William inadvertently landed on an unusual technique to manage his anxiety ahead of important speeches: not wearing contact lenses. "My eyesight started to tail off a little bit as I got older, and I didn’t used to wear contacts when I was working, so actually when I gave speeches I couldn’t see anyone’s face," he says. "And it helps, because it’s just a blur of faces and because you can’t see anyone looking at you—I can see enough to read the paper and stuff like that—but I couldn’t actually see the whole room. And actually that really helps with my anxiety."

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In the same documentary, William speaks to former soccer player Marvin Sordell about the trauma of losing his mother, Princess Diana, at a young age, and how that trauma resurfaced when he had children. "Having children is the biggest life-changing moment, it really is," he says. "I think when you’ve been through something traumatic in life...my mother dying when I was younger, the emotions come back, in leaps and bounds."

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