A royal unit. As Princess Kate gave a somber address about Addiction Awareness Week in a new video, portraits of her family of five could be seen in the background.
The Princess of Wales, 40, discussed the difficulties of the disease — and spoke about the importance of ending the stigma — as part of The Forward Trust’s “Taking Action on Addiction” campaign in a video posted on Sunday, October 30. She was named a patron of the trust last year.
“Addiction is a serious mental health condition that can happen to anyone, no matter what age, gender, race or nationality,” the princess remarked, noting she has met with many who suffer from the disease. “Attitudes to addiction are changing. But we are not there yet, and we need to be. Still the shame of addiction is stopping people and families asking for help and people are still tragically losing their lives. We as a society need to recognize that the only way to help those suffering is to try and understand what has led them to addiction, to empathize with them and to be compassionate to their struggles.”
Amid Kate’s emotional speech, several sweet photos of her family could be seen on a table in the background.
The England native, who shares 9-year-old son Prince George, 7-year-old daughter Princess Charlotte and 4-year-old son Prince Louis with husband Prince William, sat on a couch in front of the endearing pictures.
The three photos, which were all individually framed, depicted the Wales family smiling in each snap. The first picture, which was taken during the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall’s October 2019 trip to Pakistan, featured the happy couple grinning while looking at each other. The second image showed George and Charlotte posing together at their first day of school in September 2019, while the third photo — a full family shot — showed William, Kate and their three kids all smiling together surrounded by fall foliage. It was the same image the royal family used as their Christmas card in 2020.
The Wales family is sticking close together after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who died at her Balmoral estate in Scotland on September 8. She was 96 years old.
“[Louis said,] ‘At least Grannie is with Great-Grandpa [Prince Philip] now,’” Kate said while greeting a group of children two days after Her Majesty’s passing. George and Charlotte, for their part, attended the queen’s state funeral service, during which William and Kate’s only daughter became emotional and cried at the loss of her great-grandmother.
