Kate Middleton Named Top 'Health Hero' of 2015

• comments
• 
• 

It has been quite an interesting year for Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, who gave birth to her second child, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana in May, and continuing her work in raising awareness in children's mental health. In fact, Daily Mail reports that the 33-year-old has been named as one of the ten Health Heroes of 2015 by National Health Service's MyHealthLondon.

"The Duchess of Cambridge has spent most of her time this year championing children's mental health, giving spotlight to fantastic organisations such as the Anna Freud Centre and Place2Be," MyHealthLondon reports. The recognition is given by the panel of NHS professionals to outstanding individuals "who myhealthlondon commends for their efforts in supporting health issues this year" and "in recognition of their work raising awareness and influencing health in the last 12 months."

According to the panel, the candidates were selected based on "popular online searches, social media trends and top health stories of the year."

The nine other individuals who made the list are Doctor Kate Granger for the "Hello my name is" campaign, Doctor Michael Jacobs for his work with Ebola, the late Stephen Sutton's mother, Jane Sutton for her charity work, television personality Jamie Oliver for encouraging healthy eating, writer and broadcaster Roy Lilley, Doctor Christian, artist Professor Green, the creators of Checkyourfood.com, and media personality Claudia Hammond.

In November, People reported that the Duchess of Cambridge made an appearance at an event by Place2be. She spoke out in hopes to raise awareness on children's mental health, speaking to teachers and saying, "Since beginning my work...I have seen time and time again that the roots of poor mental health in adulthood are almost always present in unresolved childhood challenges."

"Many children—even those from stable, happy homes—are finding that their heads are just too full. It is our duty, as parents and as teachers, to give all children the space to build their emotional strength and provide a strong foundation for their future," the mother of two said.

"Many will arrive through your school gates feeling a real lack of love and devotion in their lives. This often leaves them feeling insecure and without confidence and trust in the world around them. That is why your work is so important," she stressed. "Imagine if everyone was able to help just one child who needs to be listened to, needs to be respected, and needs to be loved—we could make such a huge difference for an entire generation."

Middleton also recorded a PSA for Place2be earlier this year, as seen below. For more information or to support the cause, visit place2be.org.uk.