Prince William hosts FA Cup final party in garden to raise mental health awareness

The Duke of Cambridge hosted an outdoor screening of the FA Cup Final to raise awareness for his mental health campaign, Heads Up.

Heads Up is a partnership between Heads Together and the FA, which uses football to spark conversation and raise awareness about mental health.

The Prince's viewing party took place at Sandringham House in Norfolk on Saturday and saw attendees watch the season's final between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the game took place without a crowd present.

Prince William's event was attended by several famous faces, including former England captain Tony Adams, who also co-founded Heads Up, and comedian Romesh Ranganathan, who is an ambassador for the male suicide prevention charity, the Campaign Against Living Miserably.

The Duke, who is president of the FA, would usually present the winning team with the trophy from the royal box at Wembley.

But due to the circumstances imposed by the pandemic, he was unable to do so on this occasion when Arsenal won the game 2-1.

The match was renamed the Heads Up FA Cup Final in order to raise awareness for mental health.

In June, Prince William took part in a discussion about mental health with Arsenal players and coaches, emphasising the importance of speaking openly about mental wellbeing in football.

During the video call, the duke spoke with Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta, academy manager Per Mertseacker and players Hector Bellerin and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Prince William said that the FA Cup Final could be used “as a moment to promote good, positive mental health for everyone”.

“It’s quite timely bearing in mind what we’ve all been through with this pandemic,” the 37-year-old added.

“I think there’s going to be, sadly, a lot of repercussions from this in society, not just in football, in terms of people’s mental health. Hopefully the FA can be a bit of a pivot that people can rally around.”