Introduction Speech for Prince William – The Duke of Cambridge

I. Introduction

Greetings

Good Morning/ Afternoon/Evening to you all?

I would like to take a few minutes of your time kindly.

Attention Getter

Since the dawn of time, man has been pawned with illnesses and various body ailments that constantly plague the flesh in order to remind us of our lack of superhuman strength to combat even the minute parasites and bacteria. However, bacteria is not the only thing we all have to struggle with. A new breed of struggle has emerged. A struggle that has been hidden and hushed behind closed doors, a struggle that in itself can cause a family to break apart just by the mention. A struggle that many, even here in this hall, are fighting and battling, I am not talking about Cancer, or HIV/AIDS (although they are as dangerous in themselves), I am talking about Mental Illness.

Introduce yourself

My Name is Maryann Tuchi, a Board Member of the Mental Health Association. Due to my loud and talkative nature, I have been blessed with the opportunity and privilege to introduce our next speaker. I personally am a big fan of his work and throughout find him to be a mentor and an encouragement to many people out there. I would like to say I am an Individual of many words, so I will try for today to become one of few words.

Transition/ signpost

For our next speaker, He is a man who has traveled a long way to grace us with his Presence. He is famously known for serving in the Royal Airforce and for his position in the Royal Family. This year, he has been very active in the Health Industry. Setting up and promoting new charities to aid in the fight against Silence in Mental health.

II. Body

Main Point #1

He is directly in line to ascend to the British Throne and spends a lot of time at Windsor Castle with the Queen. Not many people have that privilege. However, having such a position foes not mean that hardships do not befall on him. Throughout his life, he has suffered his fair share of grief in relation to Mental Health and having experienced, first hand, the grief that comes about with Silence. He has, over the past year, been an active advocate against silence with issues pertaining mental health. He is currently one amongst the few individuals and organizations who are spearheading the Heads Together Mental Health campaign, whose main goal is to dispel the stigma that is associated and surrounds mental health (GQ, 2017) . We are all aware of the various struggles many families face with Mental Health problems and treatment of the same. For a very long time, people have been tight-lipped about any mental problems that have been occurring within their families. Over the years, there have been various stereotypes of mental health within any given society, and it is because of this that many people have remained quiet with regard to any mental problems experienced, either by themselves or other family members (Scheid & Brown, 2010). It is to this that he has started a campaign to “smash the taboo” (As he is famously known for saying) in order for people with mental health problems to be open and stay silent no longer. The campaign is led by The Royal Foundation in Partnership with Young Minds, a Mental Health Charity based in the UK, and seven other charities. Since its launch, it has this year been awarded the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon Charity of the year (Cambridge & Roberts, 2017).

Main Point #2

It is sad that we see people with mental health problems being treated differently. People are more prone to believing the existing stereotypes than to research and get information on Mental Illnesses. Mental health patients are incompetent, they are a danger to society, and have little hope of ever recovering, are a few of the stereotypes present. If you suffer from any mental illness, you are guaranteed to be violent, incompetent, and there is no hope that you will ever change your situation (Scheid & Brown, 2010). What makes these stereotypes gain more followers is that they are endorsed by the media through popular television on a daily basis. Tell me how many people have watched programs or shows in which a person suffering from any mental health problem is either violent, incompetent or beyond a point of recovery? Compare this to the reality, and one can’t help but be filled with remorse for mental health patients. They are the victims of a harsh society. It is because of these stereotypes that many families are silent on the issue. Patients are hidden away in far placed where friends, peers and other individuals are not able to discover their predicament. Family members are hiding their mental health from each other due to the stigma that is placed on a Mental Health patient. It is sad to see that as someone is ailing in private, there are others who are suffering physical or emotional injuries or illnesses and are being treated with sympathy and empathy. However, a Mental Patient is where the line is drawn (Scheid & Brown, 2010). These are issues that our next speaker will be tackling with the launch of their campaign here in America, in partnership with the Mental Health Association of America, we shall all hold hands to stomp out the silence when it comes to Mental Health Issues.

III. Conclusion

With that profile and information, I am sure most of us are already aware who our next speaker is. He is the reason for all the heightened security and police checks in the area, not that we are complaining. He is a man who walks the talk as we have all heard him say “. . . My Guiding Principles in life are, to be honest, genuine, thoughtful and caring”, and to this point, we have seen nothing short of his generosity, thoughtfulness and caring nature. He is a father of two and a proud husband. He is an inspirational person who has changed the lives of many through his actions and charities. I believe that when he says “I am not ambitious, but it is actually quite ambitious wanting to help people,” the motive behind such a statement is what drives us to do what we do here at Mental Health America. I am personally honored to have had to introduce and welcome him to this prestigious event. He does not grace a lot of events, but we are honored that you have taken the time to travel here and grace us with your presence.

So, with those few, but many words, I am excited and as well delighted and would like us all to put our hands together to welcome the man, Sorry THE PRINCE of the hour, His Royal Highness, Prince William - The Duke of Cambridge.

References

Cambridge, E., & Roberts, S. (2017, June 1). This is the incredible project the Royals are working on together to shatter mental health stigma. Retrieved June 14, 2017, from https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/3222778/heads-together-charity-mental-health-prince-william-harry-kate-middleton/

GQ. (2017, May 29). Prince William on mental health and his mother’s death. British GQ . Retrieved from http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/prince-william-mental-health-heads-together

Scheid, T. L., & Brown, T. N. (2010). A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health: Social Contexts, Theories, and Systems . Cambridge University Press.