Prince William Says His Poor Eyesight Helps His Anxiety While He's Giving Speeches (2024)

You've heard of picturing the audience in their underwear, but have you tried not picturing them at all? Apparently, not being able to see the crowd is a royal-approved shortcut to assuage stage fright.

In a new documentary premiering to tonight on BBC One, Football, Prince William and Our Mental Health, Prince William reveals that his imperfect eyesight was actually an advantage when he was getting used to public speaking. A preview clip released ahead of the debut gave fans a sneak peek at the curious strategy.

"Certain days, especially certain speeches as well when I was growing up, you definitely get a bit of anxiety," the Prince admits. "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 actually 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 helps with my anxiety."

William has opened up before about his mental health struggles, and worked to promote awareness of the issue with Heads Together, an initiative he cofounded with Kate Middleton and Prince Harry. In this new documentary, he continues to be candid—even, in another clip released on Instagram, speaking about losing his mother and having children.

"Having children is the biggest life-changing moment, it really is," he says. "I think when you’ve been through something traumatic in life... my mother dying when I was younger, the emotions come back, in leaps and bounds." William goes on to add that his wife helps him when the going gets tough. "Me and Catherine particularly, we support each other, and we go through those moments together, and we kind of evolve and learn together."