Prince Harry challenges mental health narrative with key move

Prince Harry called for major change as he emphasized on the importance of mental wellness and climate action at the 14th Concordia Annual Summit in Manhattan.

The Duke of Sussex advocated for mental wellbeing at a Diana Award event and praised the winners of the Legacy Award for their activism and compassion.

Harry highlighted mental health's universal impact and suggested changing the terminology to "mental fitness" to reduce stigma.

“It affects every single one of us, from the top to bottom, from the youngest to the oldest,” Harry said at the event as he followed in Princess Diana’s footsteps.

"And I think you guys are leading the charge in hopefully being able to break down the stigma to be able to continue these conversations,” he added.

The father-of-two went on to suggest that the well-known phrase “mental health” be changed to “mental fitness” in effort to reduce the stigma surrounding the term.

Harry shared the stage with the charity's chief executive Tessy Ojo and two winners of the Diana Legacy Award, Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang from Indonesia, and Christina Williams from Jamaica.

"I know that my mum would be incredibly proud of you guys, not just you, but all of the winners, and, Tessy - you've been in this for a very long time so thank you for that as well,” the son of King Charles added.

"But the way that you do it, your activism, your compassion, those two things are so true to how my mom led her life and what she believed in. And the way that you do it is incredible. So thank you."