London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Duchess of Cambridge warns addiction can happen to anyone

Duchess of Cambridge warns addiction can happen to anyone

"None of us are immune" to addiction, the Duchess of Cambridge warned as she highlighted the "devastating impact" of the pandemic on addiction rates.

She said that by understanding what lies beneath addiction "we can help remove the taboo and shame that sadly surrounds it".

Catherine delivered the keynote speech at the launch of the Taking Action on Addiction campaign.

She also spoke to TV star Ant McPartlin about his struggles with addiction.

The duchess is patron of addiction charity the Forward Trust, which is behind the Taking Action on Addiction campaign.

She told the event: "Addiction is not a choice. No-one chooses to become an addict. But it can happen to any one of us. None of us are immune.

"Yet it's all too rarely discussed as a serious mental health condition. And seldom do we take the time to uncover and fully understand its fundamental root causes."

She added that by understanding what lies beneath addiction "we can help remove the taboo and shame" which surrounds it.


McPartlin, who compered the event alongside his TV partner Declan Donnelly, struggled with a two-year addiction to super-strength painkillers following a knee operation in 2015.

He entered rehab after crashing his car while more than twice the alcohol limit in 2018.

He told the duchess that "by the time I asked for help, it was bad" but that "as soon as you opened up to people [...] the problems start to disappear".

"It gets better and help is there," he added.

The duchess also spoke about how the Covid-19 crisis had affected addiction rates, saying some 1.5 million more people were facing problems with alcohol, with almost one million young people experiencing an increase in addictive behaviour.

She said: "Around two million individuals who were identified as being in recovery may have experienced a relapse over the past 18 months."

 The Duchess of Cambridge gave the keynote speech at the launch of the Taking Action On Addiction campaign

She said that "we can all play our part" in helping people with addiction "by understanding, by listening, by connecting".

Catherine met beneficiaries of the Forward Trust, as well as former addicts, to hear about their experiences.

She later joined her husband at a private reception at Kensington Palace to mark the unveiling of the statue of Diana, Princess of Wales.

The reception had been postponed from July, when the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex officially presented the memorial of their mother.

The guest list is thought to have included Diana's close friends, former staff and relatives.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×