Duke of Cambridge joins Lady Gaga for online chat urging people to speak openly about mental health

In a video watched by around 15,000 people live on Facebook, William and Lady Gaga chatted about how important speaking freely about mental health can be in helping to shatter the stigma around it.

The Duke said: “It’s time that everyone speaks up and really feels very normal about mental health, it’s the same as physical health.

“Everybody has mental health and we shouldn’t be ashamed of it and just having a conversation with a friend or family member can really make such a difference.”

William has has called for an end to the “stiff upper lip” culture, saying he wants Prince George and Princess Charlotte to be able to talk about their emotions.

Along with his brother Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge, he has championed the Heads Together campaign.

It comes after Prime Minister Theresa May praised Prince Harry for his bravery in revealing that he sought counselling to come to terms with the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Harry, who was 12 when Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris, said it was not until his late 20s that he processed his grief.

The Prime Minister said his decision to speak out would help “smash the stigma around mental health” while mental health charity Mind described it as a “true turning point”.

Ministers are thought to be considering putting NHS professionals in secondary schools full-time, under plans understood to be part of a green paper on young people and mental health which will be published later this year.

A government spokesman said: “No child should suffer from mental health issues and we are investing a record £1.4billion to ensure all children get the help and support they need.

“We are strengthening the links between schools and NHS mental health staff and later this year will publish proposals for further improving services and preventative work.”

Harry had admitted that shutting down his emotions after losing his mother had “a quite serious effect on not only my personal life but my work as well”.

He said he eventually sought help after his brother told him he needed to deal with his feelings.

“It was 20 years of not thinking about it and two years of total chaos,” he explained.

But the Prince said that he was now in a “good place” because of the “process I have been through over the past two and a half years”.

Harry will be joined by William today (Tuesday) to present an award in memory of their mother, in his first public appearance since speaking out about his experience.

The two brothers will present the inaugural Legacy Award on behalf of the Diana Award – a charity established to promote the Princess’ belief in the positive power of young people – at a ceremony in St James’s Palace, London.

Twenty exceptional young people who have excelled at creating positive social change will be recognised at the event.

The new award was launched as part of a year-long celebration of Diana’s qualities of kindness, compassion and service, marking 20 years since her death.

William will also attend a screening today of BBC documentary Mind Over Marathon, which follows a group of runners affected by mental health as they prepare for the London Marathon.

Heads Together, an umbrella organisation for mental health charities, is the London Marathon’s charity of the year.

The Duke and Duchess and Harry, who hope the race will be known as “the mental health marathon”, will hand out medals on the finish line at the Mall on Sunday.