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Just four days after the birth of the of the new royal baby, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, royal fans got a shock on Friday when photos of new parents Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appeared on their official Instagram account, Sussex Royal. The pictures show Prince Harry launching the new project, Shout – a 24-hour free text messaging helpline for those suffering from a mental health crisis – joined by none other than new mom Meghan, who welcomed their firstborn son on Monday. The question was: had the Duchess already returned to her royal duties?
The Friday morning post brought with it a flood of comments from the royal couple's followers and many of them asked if the pictures were new. The event, though, occurred before Archie's arrival. Prince Harry though, has returned to work, and his agenda includes shining a light on this mental health drive, which is a collaborative effort with his brother and sister-in-law Prince William and Kate Middleton. The project is the first time the foursome – William, Kate, Meghan and Harry – have teamed up since the pairs officially split their household earlier this year.
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The statement on the Duke and Duchess' Instagram account explains that Shout is "a private, silent and trusted way, for those experiencing mental health challenges to find a safe space to seek help and support" and is part of the Heads Together campaign that William, Harry and Kate launched three years ago.
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Our sister brand HELLO! met with the Duke and Duchess at Kensington Palace on Thursday to talk about the new initiative. "We are incredibly excited to be launching this service, knowing it has the potential to reach thousands of vulnerable people every day," said Prince Willam. "Over the past few months Shout has started working quietly behind the scenes and Harry, Meghan, Catherine and I have been able to see the service working up close and are so excited for its future.
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"At the heart of this service will be an incredible national volunteer community, one which needs to grow and allow us to support more people in crisis. We hope that many more of you will join us and be part of something very special."
He went on to add: "As texting is private and silent, it opens up a whole new way to find help. It provides instant support. You can have a conversation anywhere, anytime; at school, home, on the bus, anywhere. I’m incredibly excited to be launching this service knowing it has the potential to reach thousands of vulnerable people every day."
For more information, check out giveusashout.org.