Prince William to feature in new documentary called Football, Prince William And Our Mental Health

He is the future King no stranger to dining on lavish banquets crafted to perfection by the Buckingham Palace chefs.

But Prince William has revealed he is also partial to a cheeky Nando’s and is often tempted to the chicken restaurant by his bodyguard, who fetches his order.

The Duke of Cambridge declared his love of the chain during a tell-all documentary which centres on how mental health can be seen through the prism of football.

He also opened up about his stage fright and how his ageing eyesight was actually a blessing in disguise as it blurred the crowds and allayed his nervousness.    

The Duke of Cambridge (pictured) says he managed to overcome his anxiety about giving important speeches because his weakening eye-sight meant he could no longer see people’s faces properly

The Duke, seen here with his grandmother The Queen at the Royal Albert Hall in 2015, needs glasses but often wears contact lenses for public engagements

Prince William said during the documentary that due to his weakening eye-sight, crowds eventually became ‘just a blur of faces’ because he would not wear contact lenses while working

William, here giving a speech in November last year in London, said removing his contact lenses helps him to overcome anxiety about speaking to mass audiences 

Asked when the last time he had a Nando’s, William said: ‘I like Nando’s, everyone likes a Nando’s… It was a while ago, the policeman who’s on with me again now, he’s the one who gets me into Nando’s the whole time.’

The royal has previously gushed over the chicken restaurant and in 2018 revealed he was introduced to it by his Metropolitan Police protection officer.

He will be cheered by the announcement that Nando’s is tentatively reopening 54 of its branches for takeaway, after being shuttered during lockdown.   

During the documentary, he spoke to a grassroots footballer suffering anxiety, who the Duke told how his aging eyesight helped overcome nerves. 

The Prince said said: ‘My eyesight started to tail off a little bit as I got older, and I didn’t used to wear contacts when I was working, so when I gave speeches I couldn’t see anyone’s face. 

‘And it helps, because it’s just a blur of faces and because you can’t see anyone looking at you – I can see enough to read the paper and stuff like that – but I couldn’t actually see the whole room.

‘And actually that really helped with my anxiety…’ 

William’s candid comments were made in a BBC documentary, called Football, Prince William And Our Mental Health – which will air tonight on BBC One. 

During the BBC documentary, called Football, Prince William And Our Mental Health, which is set to be aired on Thursday evening, Prince William met with grassroots and professional footballers, including ex-England goalkeeper Joe Hart

The Prince was followed for the past year for the BBC film as he travelled around the country promoting his Heads Up initiative, which aims to raise awareness about mental health and encourage football supporters to speak about their problems or support a fellow fan.

The avid Aston Villa fan revealed football has become more important to him as he has got older: ‘You know it’s weird because, I’ve always loved football but I love football more now than I’ve ever loved it before and I don’t know what it is, whether it’s because I’m a parent now and I need football more in my life, I don’t know maybe it is that.’

William also spoke openly about the issues surrounding male suicide, saying:  ‘It’s scary and it’s frightening and it’s real.’

The duke believes the continuing ‘stigma’ around mental health stems from the internalised grief and sadness the country felt after two world wars and people’s desire to forget the experience and ‘get on with life’.

William made the admission in a soon-to-air documentary on mental health within football, involving the Prince’s work with the initiative Heads Up. Pictured: Prince William meets grassroots footballers as part of the documentary

During a visit to West Bromwich Albion Football Club to meet players past and present who have experienced people close to them committing suicide, the duke said: ‘It is one of the biggest killers of young men under 45.

‘As pain and grief goes, and I’ve heard this from sadly too many families who have been bereaved by suicide, it is one of the rawest forms of grief because you’re left with so many unanswered questions.

‘Could I have done more, should I have done more, why did they do it?’

William went on to say: ‘Suicide, it’s scary and it’s frightening and it’s real.

‘Men seem to have a real issue with opening up and being able to talk about it.

‘If we can have a major impact on lowering suicide rates, that’s a success from this campaign.’

William, an avid Aston Villa fan, revealed football has become more important to him as he has got older. Pictured: Prince William with players from Everton FC

The coronavirus outbreak has meant the Heads Up project is on hold due to the disruption to football matches across the country.

But William said he hoped another legacy of his initiative would be ‘football clubs from grassroots to the elite level can all point to, or demonstrate, or have within them some sort of mental health facility or support that can look after players of all walks of life…’

Football, Prince William And Our Mental Health will be broadcast on Thursday at 8.05pm on BBC One.