Prince William Meets With A Teen Who Attempted Suicide Over Cyber Bullying

Prince William recently had the chance to talk to a teen who attempted suicide over cyber bullying, as well as a mom who lost her son due to suicide.

The two women served as Prince William’s guests at the Kensington Palace on Thursday, and they spoke about their struggles with online abuse. Prince William is also creating a film centered on cyber bullying, and mom Lucy Alexander and teen Chloe Hine served as his informant, according to People.

Prince William’s interest in the struggles of cyber bullying started after the birth of his son, Prince George. At that time, the Duke of Cambridge heard about a young boy that took his own life after being bullied by Internet trolls. A statement from the Kensington Palace said, “As he looked into the issue further it was soon clear there were many similar stories from the UK and around the world.”

Meanwhile, Alexander shared her son’s story and started her own campaign to raise awareness about the sensitive issue of cyber bullying. Prince William read Alexander’s letter and decided to include her as part of his taskforce. After giving Alexander a hug, the mom acknowledged the fact that a lot of work needs to still be done.

Hine, on the other hand, who is a member of Prince William’s youth taskforce panel, attempted to commit suicide at 13. While writing her goodbye note, the now 18-year-old found comfort in being able to express what she really felt inside.

“On social media you can’t escape it. You’re constantly with that bully. People just turned against me because they thought ‘she said this one thing that one time so let’s all hate her for that,’ and it just spiraled out of control from there,” she said.

But thanks to Prince William and companies like Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter, various ways to tackle cyber bullying are now being put in place. Also on Thursday, Prince William unveiled the result of his Taskforce on the Prevention of Cyberbullying, which included a plan of action to protect children and encourage new standards of behavior online.

“And I am proud that listening to children and parents has been at the heart of our work,” he said.