Prince William and Princess Catherine just issued a rare apology - but for a sweet reason

After having to decline an invitation to visit St Michael's School in Rowley Regis for World Mental Health Day, Prince William and Princess Catherine issued a sweet apology to the students. 

The royals were hard at work on 10 October helping to spread awareness about World Mental Health Day - so much so, that Prince William and Princess Catherine had to politely decline some invitations to events they were unable to make. 

Young student Freddie Hadley of St Michael's School in Rowley Regis sent Prince William a message informing him of the school's "Matrix Project" - a club for boys aged 11-14 that focuses on male mental health. He invited them to their latest project launch, which was set to be presented yesterday, 10 October - but unfortunately, the Prince and Princess were unable to attend due to prior engagements. 

Sweetly, though, William and Kate addressed the event on their joint X (formerly Twitter) account, issuing a sweet apology to Freddie and the rest of the Matrix Project boys on account of their not being able to attend. 

Unfortunately, they had an event in Birmingham relatively close by, where they took part in a youth forum on mental health. But, William didn't hesitate to reach out and offer his apologies for being unavailable for their important launch.

"Good afternoon Freddie, I'm so sorry Catherine and I can’t be with you and the rest of the students at St Michael’s today. Tackling mental health challenges and stigmas head-on is so important, please keep up this important work. W," the post on William and Kate's X account read. The "W" at the end indicates that William himself crafted and addressed the message. 

The St. Michael's student account replied to their post, thanking them for their regretful decline. "Thank you so much! This message is everything," they replied. 

Later on that day, the Prince and Princess posted images from their outing in Birmingham, spreading important messages about de-stigmatizing mental health issues, especially among the youth. 

"Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay and a reminder to prioritise our mental wellbeing It’s always so insightful listening to young people share their experiences, and today's event ‘Exploring our #EmotionalWorlds’ has been full of important conversations," they wrote on their X account, along with some images of them with students. 

They also visited some first responders on 11 October, amplifying the voices of those struggling with mental health issues in the line of duty. "Thank you to the Blue Light Hub for working to break down the stigma surrounding mental health in the line of duty and ensuring our emergency responders receive the care they deserve," they posted after that event.