Prince William shares how wife Kate sparked the royals' mental health work

In the past few years, the young royals have been widely praised for their focus and work in the field of mental health awareness.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spearheaded the launch of charities Heads Together and Shout, the UK’s first free 24/7 text service for people in crisis.

Now, Prince William has explained how the formation of the Royal Foundation's mental health-focused campaigns was heavily influenced by his wife.

In an interview with The Mirror, conducted via text message, William says the Duchess realised the common thread in the work they and Harry were undertaking individually.

"It was actually Catherine that connected the dots," one of his texts reads.

“Harry, Catherine and I were all working on issues such as homelessness, veterans and addiction – and Catherine pointed out that so much was connected by poor mental health."

Raising awareness of mental health and encouraging people to open up to others is a matter of particular significance to the royal brothers.

Both William and Harry have acknowledged how opening up to others about the loss of their mother Princess Diana has helped them process their grief, even years after the fact.

In a new documentary, William, 37, explains how enduring the death of a loved one immediately connects you to other bereaved individuals.

"When you talk to someone else, you can almost see it in their eyes sometimes," he explains in A Royal Team Talk: Tackling Mental Health.

LISTEN: The Windsors podcast looks at how tragedy has shaped Prince William's life. (Post continues.)

"It's a weird thing to say, but if someone's desperate to talk about bereavement you can kind of pick up on it a bit quickly.

"They want to talk about it but they want you to go first.

"They want you to say 'it's OK', they want to have your permission in that particular conversation, one on one, it's OK to talk about bereavement."

William tells The Mirror his time working in the mental health field has reiterated that the first conversation is usually the "hardest", but at the same time the most "impactful."

“For years we’ve heard that talking about mental health is a sign of weakness, when actually it shows incredible strength," the future king explains.

"It’s possibly the most important thing you can ever do."

The father of three also says it's vital for parents to raise their children to be as resilient as possible, giving another hat tip to Kate for her work in this particular area.

"Ensuring that every child gets the best start in life is key to that – something that Catherine is hugely passionate about, and has been working on for years," William says.