Prince William has "made a school student's dreams come true" with a surprise visit after receiving a heartwarming letter.
The Prince of Wales, 41, is visiting St Michael's School in Rowley Regis today after a student wrote to the royal last year.
Freddie Hadley wrote to Prince William, inviting him to see his school to see their work with tackling mental health challenges.
Today, the father-of-three surprised the young student with a visit to the secondary school.
Prince William greeting Freddie at his secondary school
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In September, Freddie's school posted a picture of his letter to Prince William on social media.
In the letter, Freddie explained his project as a group of 11 to 14-year-old boys who meet every week to develop ideas and projects to shine a spotlight on male mental health.
The group launched the #AmIManlyEnough campaign last year to tackle the stigma around male mental health and encourage men and boys to communicate more about their feelings.
Much to the boy's delight, William responded to his social media callout two days later, coinciding with World Mental Health Day, commending Freddie and St Michael's School on their work to tackle mental health challenges faced by pupils.
👋 @SStmichaels https://t.co/lauHNCPpeH
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) April 25, 2024
The school captioned the original post: "When your students create a guest list and include His Royal Highness Prince William.
"Some might think this is wildly ambitious but as Walt Disney once said 'all our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them'."
Earlier today, the Prince and Princess of Wales's social media accounts quote posted the message with a waving hand emoji, letting the school know he was on his way.
William told him: "I'm here now", as he met the enterprising youngster.
Prince William arriving at St Michael's School
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Prince William chatting to Freddie who wrote to the royal last year
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Last October, the Prince of Wales replied to the 12-year-old and wrote: "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."
Prince William is in the West Midlands today to learn about initiatives across the region that are supporting people's mental health and well-being.
St Michael’s employs a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing, and in May 2022 achieved a gold standard award by the Carnegie Centre of Excellent for Mental Health in Schools.
