Prince William marked Mental Health Awareness Week by appearing in a short YouTube film alongside four serving Royal Navy Submariners who have been crew members on HMS Oardacious challenges.

HMS Oardacious was established in 2019 to champion and fundraise for the well-being, mental health and welfare of all Submariners, serving and retired, and their families. 

It sees crews of Submariners embark on bold challenges to row across the Atlantic. One of HMS Oardacious' co-founders and crew members, Lieutenant Commander Callum Fraser, is from Basingstoke.

READ MORE: Basingstoke man rows Atlantic raising £50k for navy charity

In January 2020, four serving Royal Navy Submariners became the fastest military team in history to row across any ocean, spending 37 days, six hours and 40 minutes battling across the North Atlantic as part of the annual Atlantic Challenge.

The team subsequently entered a crew in 2022 and has their crews ready for 2023, 2024 and beyond. The teams all championed mental health and resilience and have fundraised over £110,000 in support of mental health charity initiatives.

In the film, Prince William joins representatives of the HMS Oardacious crew for a training session on Dorney Lake in Buckinghamshire.  The group includes co-founders, Lieutenant Commander Callum Fraser and Lieutenant Commander Hugo Mitchell-Heggs, as well as Chief Petty Officer Jon Norfolk, who took part in the 2022 team. Lieutenant Isobel Rawlinson is looking to Captain an all-female team in 2024.

Basingstoke Gazette: One of HMS Oardacious' co-founders and crew members, Lieutenant Commander Callum Fraser, is from

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Prince William said: “Understanding our support networks is crucial because a lot of people don’t have those support networks and being in the military, we’re very good at being able to form close bonds and realising that the only way we are going to get through all of this is to help each other and support each other through."

Mental Health Awareness Week ran from May 15-21 and this year focused on the theme of anxiety. The week intends to kickstart a national conversation, encouraging people to share their own experiences and any helpful tips on how they manage their anxiety.

The film follows visits by The Princess of Wales to The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust in Bath and Anna Freud in London as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. The full film can be found on The Prince and Princess of Wales’ YouTube channel.