Prince William Visits School After Getting Invited on Social Media as Kate Middleton Continues Cancer Treatment

The Prince of Wales is in the West Midlands of England visiting a school and community projects tackling better well-being

Prince William is continuing his work to highlight better mental health for young people — and showing that you never know what might come out of a social media post.

The Prince of Wales, 41, stepped out amid his wife Kate Middleton's ongoing cancer treatment to visit a school that had caught his eye for their award-winning student-led initiatives. William headed to Birmingham, in England's West Midlands, on April 25 to see St. Michael’s Church of England High School in Sandwell.

The school came on the royal's radar after 12-year-old Freddie Hadley wrote a letter to Prince William and Princess Kate, 42, that was shared on social media for World Mental Health Day in Oct. 2023. Freddie invited the couple to their school group's #AmIManlyEnough campaign launch, writing, "Through our work, we discovered that suicide is the biggest killer in young males, and this won't change until people start the conversation."

Prince William personally replied to the letter on X (formerly Twitter) by writing, "Good afternoon Freddie, I’m so sorry Catherine and I can’t be with you and the rest of the students at St Michael’s today. Tackling mental health challenges and stigmas head on is so important, please keep up this important work." The Prince of Wales signed the tweet with a "W," the sign that the note came directly from the royal rather than his team.

“Your letter worked,” Prince William told Freddie Hadley, 12, from Sandwell, West Midlands when they met on Thursday.

They then chatted about how Freddie and his school pals talk about their feelings.

“They open up?” William asked. “What’s been the biggest thing? Talking about things?”

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Prince William got to see firsthand the work of the Matrix Project, which Freddie highlighted in his letter for bringing boys aged 11 to 14 together for weekly meetings that develop ideas and projects to tackle mental health challenges. The royal joined a session with some of the boys and was told how the group launched the #AmIManlyEnough campaign last year to encourage males to communicate more about their feelings and tackle the stigma of mental health.

William also met representatives of Student Voice to hear about their projects set up at the school to promote positive mental health and joined a workshop with students discussing issues related to well-being, including designing their own calm kits and their dream well-being hub.

“What a beautiful opportunity for our youngsters to shine a spotlight on everything we do in school," headteacher Christina Handy-Rivett tells PEOPLE. "And to have His Royal Highness, who pioneers and supports mental health, it was such a special moment.”

“We are extraordinarily excited and so proud. It’s such a unique response to help support and raise awareness of what we are undertaking as a school community to really engage strategies to support mental health and well-being," she says.

Handy-Rivett adds that they were “shocked” at the overwhelming response to the letter which they posted on social media.

”We are always encouraging children to dream big — I say to them the sky’s the limit and don’t put limitations on yourself and if you don’t ask, you don’t get. And this is a perfect example of that," Kerry Whitehouse, senior mental health lead at the school, tells PEOPLE.

“For us to have members of the royal family who are actively championing mental health is incredible. For young people to look at the future king and see him championing work and being passionate about the same things as they are is incredibly important," Whitehouse says. “It’s a huge issue which often gets overlooked. There is no price tag you can put on seeing influential people, on another scale — and these are global influencers — championing the messages our students believe in.”

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Freddie tells PEOPLE that it was a "massive shock" to see Prince William arrive at his school, sharing that at first, "I couldn’t see who it was — I thought it was just like security. When he started getting closer, I thought, 'That’s Prince William,' and I was so shocked. It’s insane."

Despite his surprise, Freddie later told the Prince of Wales that he had "no doubt" that the royal would visit "someday" because of his dedication to mental health awareness.

"He is a very nice guy," the student says. "When I sat down with him about what we do in school with our Matrix Project, I got more comfortable and I felt like I got into his way of thinking about it. He asked us about why we do our stuff and why he is an advocate for male mental health."

Related: Prince William Promises to 'Look After' Kate Middleton amid Cancer Treatment While Receiving Cards for Her and King Charles

Freddie adds that William "said from working with charities for mental health he realizes — as he’s a male himself — he’s gone through those things before. He realizes it is such a massive thing in today’s society, and he wanted to step up and get these issues sorted out."

Freddie said that Prince William "seems the same guy" as the when he's seen on TV or online — and even found out they share a love for Aston Villa's soccer team.

"I said my favorite players are John McGinn and Olly Watkins, and he said, 'I can totally agree because they’re really great players,' " Freddie shares.

The entire school buzzed during the visit, with students lining the stairs to catch a glimpse of the royal. Outside the building, Prince William went on a walkabout, smiling as he shook the hands of as many excited pupils as possible.

Haney-Rivett tells PEOPLE that a highlight of the royal visit was seeing Freddie's face when he first released who their mystery VIP visitor was.

"Then, just being able to stand back and watch the busyness in the room and watch some truly inspirational engagement of Prince William and the young people engaging with him. It was free-flowing and spectacular," she says. "They were overwhelmed initially, but he settled their nerves so quickly. It’s because he’s genuine and authentic. And they can see that — it permeates."

Prince William also left with some thoughtful presents for Princess Kate. Whitehouse tells PEOPLE they gave her Lego sunflowers because "building things is therapeutic and sunflowers represent happiness positivity and strength" as well as sunflower seeds "to sow seeds of positivity" in addition to other goodies.

"We didn’t want to give flowers but something significant to represent the theme of the day," Whitehouse says, adding that Prince William commented that the Legos would "go down well in the house."

Later on Thursday, Prince William is set to see two more organizations focused on giving a second chance to those who are homeless and fighting addiction.

Since Princess Kate made her announcement on March 22 that she was undergoing treatment for cancer, William has curtailed his public duties, making sure he is home as much as possible for the couple's three children — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, who celebrated his sixth birthday on April 23 — and helping Kate.

Both Prince William and Princess Kate have prioritized the promotion of mental health for much of their public life. Alongside Prince Harry, they spearheaded the successful Heads Together campaign that did much for raising awareness of the challenges many people face.

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