The Duke of Cambridge shared a transatlantic FaceTime call with the singer as he praised her for writing an “incredibly moving and very brave” open letter about her battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.
In the call from Hollywood to Kensington Palace, which was posted on the monarchy’s Facebook page yesterday, William, 34, said: “It’s time that everyone speaks up and feels very normal about mental health. It’s the same as physical health. Everybody has mental health. We shouldn’t be ashamed of it. Just having a conversation with a friend or family member can really make such a difference.”
Lady Gaga, 31, said: “Even though it was hard, it was the best thing that could come out of my mental illness was to share it with other people, and to let our generations, as well as other generations, know that if you are feeling not well in your mind, that you are not alone. People that you think would never have a problem do.
“We have to make the strongest, most relentless attempt we can to normalise mental health issues, so that people feel like they can come forward.”
It was the latest stage in a campaign by the royals to raise the profile of mental health. A series of films, featuring stars including Stephen Fry and Rio Ferdinand, have been published on YouTube under the #Oktosay banner.
In an interview published yesterday, William called for an end to the “stiff upper lip” culture and said he wanted his children, George and Charlotte, three and one, to be able to “grow up feeling able to talk about their emotions”.
At the weekend, Prince Harry, 32, revealed he had endured two years of “total chaos” in his late twenties and had sought counselling to help come to terms with the death of his mother, Diana, when he was 12.
Last December Lady Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, published an open letter via her Born This Way Foundation revealing she had suffered from PTSD for five years.
In the call, she agreed to join William, Kate and Harry to continue to promote their Heads Together campaign when she visits London in October. Asked by William how she felt about going public about her illness, she replied: “It made me nervous at first. For me, waking up every day and feeling sad and going on stage is something that is very hard to describe. There is a lot of shame attached to mental illness. You feel like something is wrong with you.”
William said he had learned that “it’s really important to have this conversation. You won’t be judged. It’s so important to break open that fear and that taboo, that is only going to lead to more problems down the line.” The singer replied: “It can make a huge difference. I feel like we are not hiding any more. We are starting to talk. That is what we need to do.”
Heads Together has been chosen as the charity of the year for this Sunday’s London Marathon. YouGov research published by Heads Together yesterday found 57% of 18 to 24-year-olds had a conversation about mental health in the past three months, compared with 44% of those aged 50-64 and 32% of people over 65.