When Prince Harry welcomed singer Ed Sheeran into his cousin Princess Eugenie’s home in Kensington Palace, it seemed clear that they were united for a common cause.
In a video released on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Instagram page yesterday, Oct. 10, the two men are seen instantly bonding over their red hair and beards, with Harry stating, “It’s like looking in the mirror.”
As Sheeran settles in with his laptop, Harry gets down to business. “This for me is a subject and a conversation that is just not talked about enough. I think people all over the world are really suffering,” he says.
Sheeran agrees, sharing that he is writing a song about it, for which Harry shows support. The “Thinking out Loud” singer adds, “People just don’t understand what it’s like for people like us.”
Harry looks confused as Sheeran elaborates, “You know, the jokes and snide comments, I just feel like it’s time that we stood up and said, you know, we’re not going to take this any more. We are ginger and we’re going to fight.”
Harry fumbles and says there could have been a “miscommunication” in the agenda of their meeting. He explains that the collaboration is about World Mental Health Day.
Sheeran quickly deletes a large text that blares “GINGERS UNITE” in a computer document that also has text referring to himself as the “king of ging.” He then joins Harry who encourages people to “reach out… to anyone suffering in silence.”
The Instagram post lists Instagram accounts of organizations that support mental health.
Harry has been vocal about mental health awareness, working with his brother and sister-in-law Prince William and Duchess Catherine to set up Heads Together, a charity that addresses mental well-being.
Sheeran has been longtime friends with Eugenie. He has spoken up about his substance-abuse struggles and performed at a 2018 benefit concert for mental health in England. /ra
RELATED STORIES:
Princes William and Harry back UK mental health text support
Prince Harry, Oprah work on mental health program for Apple
Bieber, Sheeran’s new tune tackling mental health breaks single-day stream record on Spotify