Prince William reveals he is a helpline volunteer for people in crisis

Duke of Cambridge is one of more than 2,000 volunteers at charity Shout

The Duke of Cambridge during a volunteer celebration event with the charity Shout at the Troubadour White City Theatre in London in November 2019. (Yui Mok/PA Archive/PA Images)

Prince William has revealed that he has been assisting people via a crisis helpline that his Royal Foundation helped to launch.

The Duke of Cambridge is one of more than 2,000 crisis volunteers at Shout 85258, a 24-hour text messaging helpline.

His work with the service was made public to coincide with Volunteers Week, an annual celebration of the contributions people make across the country though volunteering.

Shout was launched in May last year with the help of the Cambridges and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who gave it £3 million through their Royal Foundation.

More than 300,000 text conversations have so far taken place between volunteers and people using the helpline to access mental health support.

Of those who have used the service, more than 65 per cent are aged under 25.

Last month, the Duke and Duchess marked Shout’s first anniversary by talking to some of its volunteers via video call, with William saying: “I'm going to share a little secret with you guys, but I'm actually on the platform volunteering.”

The Duchess has also been volunteering by chatting with people who are self-isolating or vulnerable as part of the Royal Voluntary Service's NHS Volunteer Responders scheme.

The Cambridges marked Volunteers Week by speaking with Machynlleth Community Corona Response Group, a group of more than 120 volunteers in the Welsh market town of Machynlleth and its surrounding villages.

The group has been delivering food to people, running a telephone helpline and cooking for the vulnerable during the coronavirus crisis.

Prince William told them: “It's National Volunteering Week and we want to say a big thank you from both of us. Thank you for all the volunteering you're doing, thank you for all the time and all the effort you're putting in.”

The couple had earlier spoken to Lynda Edwards-Ryley, a 91-year-old great-grandmother, who was lonely and isolated before was helped by volunteer Sadie Maud as part of the scheme.

The Duke and Duchess also spoke to Conscious Youth, a community organisation in West Yorkshire which works with young people from mainly black and other ethnic minority backgrounds, and joked about the difficulties of home-schooling.

The Cambridges have not revealed whether they have sent their children back to school.

Additional reporting from PA