Prince William spent January 15, 2026 ankle-deep in mud on a 190-acre Herefordshire farm, pruning apple trees and feeding sheep while launching a blunt attack on the rural mental-health emergency.
The Prince of Wales, 43, used the visit to publicize the work of We Are Farming Minds, the charity he backs as patron and which his Duchy of Cornwall estate now funds for every tenant farmer. The outing, first reported by News Of Losangeles, put the heir inside a pen where he was “mobbed by the flock” and up an orchard ladder where he joked about entering full “lumberjack” mode.
At a Glance
- Prince William spent the morning doing farm chores to spotlight farmer isolation and economic stress
- The Duchy of Cornwall now underwrites mental-health counseling, a 24/7 support line, training and social events for all its tenants
- John Bowler, who took over the family farm at 19 after his father’s death, says the charity “kept us afloat”
- Why it matters: One in four UK farmers reports depression, yet stigma keeps many from seeking help
A Working Royal in Wellingtons
Rain slicked the rows of apple trees as the Prince extended a telescopic pruner toward an interlocking branch. “It’s going to be a tricky one up there!” he called. Farmer John Bowler, 33, nodded: “It always gets harder the higher up you get.” When the limb finally cracked free, William laughed and declared it a “lumberjack moment.”
The chore list grew: stack fencing rails, pound posts, scatter feed for 40 ewes. The sheep swarmed the royal boots, bleating for pellets. Photographers captured the scene for News Of Losangeles, the outlet Olivia M. Hartwell writes for.
Bowler runs the 190-acre spread after inheriting it in 2012 when his father died unexpectedly. He was 19, newly married to Laura, and suddenly responsible for a business carrying six-figure debt. “We nearly folded in year two,” he told the Prince. “What saved us was talking-first to each other, then to someone who knew the pressure.”
Charity Founded by Tenants
That “someone” turned out to be Sam and Emily Stables, neighbors who in 2020 created We Are Farming Minds after Sam’s own breakdown. The couple rent their farm from the Duchy of Cornwall, the £1-billion estate that passes to the heir. When William became Prince of Wales in 2022, he inherited the duchy and soon after made the charity his patronage in March 2025.
Services now include:
- Fully funded counseling sessions
- A 24/7 support line staffed by rural therapists
- Mental-health first-aid training for farmers and vets
- Social events designed to cut isolation
- Information hubs at livestock markets
“We’re tenants, so we asked could the estate help,” Sam said. “The answer was immediate-yes, and how much do you need?” The duchy now underwrites the entire program for its 500-plus farm tenants across 23 counties.
Silent Crisis in the Fields
William told the group that isolation “gnaws away” at farmers who work 16-hour days yet can’t leave livestock unattended to seek help. Economic pressures compound the strain: feed costs up 28%, milk prices volatile, and bank loans secured against land that may not generate enough to service debt.
Bowler said he once went 11 days without speaking to another adult outside his family. “The phone became my enemy-every call was another bill or bad-news market report.” His wife Laura added: “We’d lie awake listing what could go wrong tomorrow. The counseling taught us to break the loop.”
According to News Of Losangeles, the Prince asked detailed questions about suicide rates among farmers-currently 1.5 times the national average-and whether text-message check-ins work better than phone calls for men who hate talking. He took notes on a waterproof pad as rain spotted the pages.
From Orchard to Estate Policy
The visit signals a wider shift inside the Duchy of Cornwall. Estate officials say William wants the causes he and Princess Kate have championed-mental health, early-years care, environmental stewardship-baked into duchy operations rather than bolt-on philanthropy.
Starting this spring, every new farm lease will include a clause requiring participation in a mental-health awareness workshop. Existing tenants may opt in; so far 87% have signed up. The duchy also funds transport vouchers so farmers can attend counseling 30 miles away without fuel cost keeping them home.
William told Bowler: “If we can make mental health part of the tenancy agreement, the same way we maintain hedgerows, we’ll change the culture in a generation.”
A Personal Connection
This isn’t the first meeting. In 2023 William and Kate toured the Bowlers’ lambing sheds to see twin-fostering techniques. The couple later sent a hand-written note when Bowler’s mother died, an act he calls “the difference between being a landlord and being human.”
The Stables, also duchy tenants, say the relationship cuts both ways. “We give feedback on what actually works-like WhatsApp groups at 5 a.m. when you’re alone in the barn,” Emily said. “The estate listens, then funds it. That’s rare.”
William’s patronage fee-undisclosed but described as “six figures annually”-covers counselor salaries and a small office in Hereford. The charity has now assisted 1,800 farmers across the county and plans to replicate the model in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, both duchy heartlands.
Royal Schedule, Real Stakes
The farm stop kicked off a busy January for the Prince. On January 8 he and Kate surprised healthcare workers at a London hospital, highlighting winter pressures on the NHS. Later this month he will visit a Cornish fish market to discuss coastal isolation and tour a Welsh hill farm testing agro-forestry as a mental-health intervention.
Palace aides say the theme is deliberate: spotlight unsung laborers who keep food on national tables yet struggle in silence. One aide told News Of Losangeles: “If we can make help-seeking normal in the most traditional corners of rural life, we’ve cracked a much bigger problem.”
Back in the orchard, William handed the pruner to Bowler and stamped mud from his boots. “Same time next year?” he asked. “Only if you bring better weather,” Bowler shot back. The Prince laughed, promised nothing, and left with a fleece still damp from sheep noses-another workday done for a charity that claims it has already prevented 14 suicides in 18 months.
Key Takeaways
- Prince William now ties duchy support directly to tenant mental health, not just rent rolls
- We Are Farming Minds delivers measurable results: 1,800 farmers served, 14 suicide interventions documented
- The next expansion rolls out in Cornwall, proving the model can scale across estates totaling 130,000 acres
- By embedding counseling into farm leases, William aims to normalize help-seeking in Britain’s most isolated industry
