The Prince of Wales’ stop highlighted how farmers need support from isolation and economic pressures that bring mental health challenges

Prince William visits a family-run farm in Herefordshire on Jan. 15, 2026.Credit : Richard Pohle-WPA Pool/Getty

Prince William hopped in to help with farm chores at his latest engagement, joking that he was in the “lumberjack” zone.

The Prince of Wales, 43, joined in with pruning apple trees, building a fence and feeding the sheep on a farm in Herefordshire, western England, on Jan. 15. He made the stop as patron of We Are Farming Minds, which works to support farmers’ mental health.

While pruning apple trees in the orchard during the rainy engagement, William quipped about the difficulties.

“It’s going to be a tricky one up there!” he said as he extended the tree pruner, the Hereford Times reported. Farmer John Bowler agreed, “It always gets harder the higher up you get.”

An interlocking branch made the job harder, and Prince William said it was a “lumberjack moment” when it finally came down.

Prince William visits a family-run farm in Herefordshire on Jan. 15, 2026.Richard Pohle-WPA Pool/Getty

The heir to the throne also got to feed sheep, and the Hereford Times reported that he was “mobbed by the flock” when he entered their pen.

Prince William had another mission in mind as well: to highlight the isolation and mental health challenges that farmers face. Farmers face loneliness and external stresses due to economic pressures.

He was helping out on the farm owned by Bowler, who has been running a 190-acre family farm after unexpectedly taking over from his late father in 2012 at just 19.

Prince William visits a family-run farm in Herefordshire on Jan. 15, 2026.Richard Pohle-WPA Pool/Getty

Bowler and his wife, Laura, have been supported by the locally-based charity, We Are Farming Minds, and William joined them for a chat, along with the charity’s founder, Sam Stables, to discuss the importance of supporting farmers with their mental health. The Herefordshire-based charity provides fully funded counseling, a 24/7 support line, training, social events, information, advice and broader support designed to raise awareness of the importance of mental health.

Sam and his wife Emily Stables founded it to help tackle the stigma surrounding mental health in the farming community. The Stables are tenants of William’s Duchy of Cornwall, the vast estate he inherited when he became heir to the throne in 2022, upon the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth. William and his wife, Kate Middleton, visited the couple at their farm in 2023.

William became patron of the charity in March 2025.

Prince William visits a family-run farm in Herefordshire on Jan. 15, 2026.Richard Pohle-WPA Pool/Getty

The Duchy of Cornwall is working with We Are Farming Minds as part of its ongoing mental health support for all its tenants. This mirrors Prince William’s wish to utilize some of the causes and interests he and Princess Kate have been developing in their public life into the day-to-day working of the vast estate.

Prince William visits a family-run farm in Herefordshire on Jan. 15, 2026.Richard Pohle-WPA Pool/Getty

Prince William had his first outing of the new year last week, when he and Princess Kate surprised healthcare workers at a hospital in London on Jan. 8. They were there to showcase the challenges that hospitals face during peak virus season.