Prince William breaks stigma around periods ahead of ‘important’ conversation with daughter Charlotte

The Prince of Wales has been praised for helping to break the stigma around periods after a discussion about menstrual health with young recipients of The Diana Legacy Award in East London.

Period equity and gender equality activist Vivi Lin had asked Prince William whether he had discussed the topic with his children, to which William replied: “I know I will have to one day,” before acknowledging that he “might need my wife to help me with that”.

Taiwan-born Vivi, 28, founder of the With Red organisation and The Period Museum, said: “We work with a lot of dads who have daughters, and I think it is just really important to ask him that question. He shared that he knows one day he will need to have that conversation with his daughter, but he will need the help of his wife and everything.” 

William took the conversation on, discussing the need for women’s cycles to be taken into account in competitive sport.

Vivi said: “He also mentioned that we need to acknowledge that women are just different, we have different biological cycles. So he’s obviously very into women’s sports, supporting women’s sport, and everything, and he shared about that. 

“He shared about how the UK’s women’s sports, especially football, are changing how people are tailor-making different kinds of training schedules for the female players, so it will better help them to perform the way they want on the pitch.

“I think he definitely knows a lot of things about it. He shared that many English football teams are championing this campaign across the world because many people know something needs to be done, but few are actually doing it. In the UK, a lot of people are doing it and actually helping the female players.”

She said of her conversation with the future King: “Hearing him say that he knows he needs to talk to his daughter, and that he also knows he needs help from his family and everyone, I think this will really encourage a lot of people who are ready or not ready yet to talk to their children about periods.

“The fact that he acknowledged and knows that menstrual stigma is still pretty much a thing in our current society, I think that will really help us to break that stigma and to have a different conversation with people.”

William met Vivi and fellow Diana Legacy Award winner Sophie Pender, 30, after they took part in a panel session on the topic of “society rewired” at the SXSW London festival in Shoreditch, where The Diana Award is the official charity partner.

Telling the Prince that one topic they had discussed was the rise of populism, Sophie asked how he made sure he stayed connected with communities.

“We were talking about the fact that of all the people in the country, he’s probably the person who can go and see the most diverse group of people you can possibly imagine, and he said something really lovely about, in the backdrop of things feeling quite divided, there’s actually way more that connects us,” she said.

“We’re actually all really similar people and not that unique, and he said that the key things that everyone he meets, regardless of who they are, cares about are safety, love, happiness, health, and respect. He was talking about how he thinks that it’s grassroots leaders in small communities that are basically the backbone of society.”

“He put it very beautifully,” added Vivi. “He said that the community leaders are the beating heart of the country and I think that’s very touching.”

William and Sophie also bonded overTaylor Swift, whose song “You’re On Your Own Kid”, played when he presented her with The Diana Legacy Award in 2024.

“He said she’s as nice in person as she seems online,” she said afterwards.

Sophie founded the 93% Club, which is the UK’s largest network of former state school pupils and aims to help support future generations in the way that private school alumni networks do.

“It was quite a fun conversation to have with Prince William in it, but I think it’s a really good example of, like, we’re to, you know, come from two totally different worlds, and to be able to connect on that level was really humanizing.”

William also shared his concerns over the digital world. “He said, in theory, we’re all way more connected, but if anything, we’re more isolated than ever,” added Sophie.

The Prince later looked shocked as he spoke to filmmaker and winner of The Diana Award Ella Greenwood about her documentary Lost Generation, about online harm to children and young people.

“How damaging is social media to young people? Are we just scratching the surface of what’s going on?” he asked.

Told she had spoken to children as young as 13 who had watched the assassination of American political activist Charlie Kirk online, he shook his head as he said: “A 13-year-old saw this?”

Among other Diana Legacy Award winners William met, Diana Chao, who told him she was named after his mother, presented him with a copy of her Mental Health Guidebook. 

He also discussed the potential use of AI for mental health, but warned: “Using AI is only as good as the information you put in.”

Dr Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award, said: “We were delighted to be joined by HRH The Prince of Wales. Like us, we know he is proud to see the voices of young people at the heart of this event, empowering them to lead conversations on the defining and pressing issues of our time. 

“These young people are not simply responding to the world they inherit but actively reshaping it and through this making a lasting positive impact.”

Every two years, the Diana Legacy Awards celebrate the achievements of 20 exceptional young leaders, who are inspiring the next generation to make a positive difference to the world and follow in the footsteps of Diana, Princess of Wales.

As the only charity named to officially carry her name, The Diana Award was founded on the belief that young people have the power to change their community, their country and the world.