Princess Kate
James Middleton has opened up about how his sister, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, supported him through struggles with his mental health.
In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Mr Middleton said Catherine and their other sister, Pippa Middleton, have seen him “at my best and at my lowest”.
“Sibling love is something unique, you can’t choose your siblings. It can be complicated, it takes work, but when it’s strong, I believe it’s one of the most powerful bonds there is,” he added.
The 38-year-old has spoken candidly about his mental health in the past, including his diagnoses for dyslexia, attention deficit disorder (ADD) and depression.
Mr Middleton has credited Catherine, 43, Pippa, 41, and mother Carole, 70, with helping him overcome a mental health crisis in 2017 that lead him to consider taking his own life.
He said that having such “strong women” around him taught him that “vulnerability wasn’t weakness, it was strength”.
His cocker spaniel, Ella, was also central in getting him through this period, which is the subject of his new memoir.
“She gave me a reason to get up, to go outside, to care, ” he explained.
Of his two sisters, Mr Middleton said they have always been “in tune with the people around them”, adding that their “emotional intelligence rubbed off on me, even if I didn’t fully realise it at the time”.
“Looking back, I think it gave me permission, in a way, to feel things more deeply and to name those feelings when they came up,” he added.
“That doesn’t mean I always found it easy. In fact, like a lot of men, I struggled with expressing how I was doing when I was at my lowest.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story you can find information and support on the BBC Actionline website.
