bitchy | Prince William had a ‘lumberjack moment’ as he posed for photos on a farm

Do you ever wonder if King Charles looks through photos of his heir’s events and chuckles to himself? Say what you will about Charles, but he was probably the most consequential Prince of Wales in Britain’s history. He loved meeting with farmers and talking to plants and sheep in equal measure. He was authentically interested in agriculture, farming, livestock, all of it. He didn’t have to do skits to get attention either. Well, Prince William visited a farm in Herefordshire on Thursday, and he looked as awkward as possible. The biggest problem is that William’s events are so rare, he always looks uncomfortable as he tries to remember what poses he’s supposed to hit for his in-house photographer.

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.

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. 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.

[From People]

If I inherited a 190-acre farm when I was 19 years old, I would need a lot more than mental health support! What about actual, physical support? Financial support? Seasonal staff to help with the livestock and orchards? As for Crisis King’s lumberjack moment… I wonder how all of these farmers feel about William showing up for 40 minutes, posing for lumberjack photos and then leaving. Stolen lumberjack valor!

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.