The Duke of Cambridge has told parents and victims of online abuse that he is sorry he could not help them sooner at the launch of a national campaign to tackle cyberbullying.

Speaking from Google's central London headquarters in King's Cross, William said, as a parent, he understood the 'sense of loss and anger of those particular families who have lost children' after they were targeted in campaigns of harassment.

William delivered a speech at the conclusion of the final meeting of technology and internet companies on the Royal Foundation Taskforce for Cyberbullying, where he urged organisations to commit to the ethos of a new plan to tackle the problem centred on getting youngsters to 'stop, speak, and support'.

The Duke of Cambridge has told parents and victims of online abuse that he is sorry he could not help them sooner at the launch of a national campaign to tackle cyberbullying

But he also said he had hoped the firms would 'go further' with their delivery of a universal approach to tackling the issue, and expressed disappointment that companies had not agreed to create a form of standardisation around reporting abuse, or a single universal tool for children to report bullying when they saw it online.

Among those the Duke met before he took to the stage were Emma Hine, whose daughter Chloe was once a victim of online abuse and who has helped to create the taskforce's new plan, and Lucy Alexander, whose son Felix took his own life after falling victim to cyber abuse last year.

William delivered a speech where he urged organisations to commit to the ethos of a new plan to tackle the problem

William addressed both victims and their parents on a working panel where he was praised for his 'amazing' work

Parents of victims shared their faith in William's ability to make a difference during his speech

Addressing them both as part of a working panel of parents who have committed to the scheme, the Duke said he was 'sorry' that the campaign had not started in time to have made a difference to Felix and Chloe's personal experiences with bullies.

He said: 'I'm sorry it's taken so long to get to this point - I can only apologise that it didn't happen in time for you.'

But Ms Hine said that despite William's regret, his 'amazing' work was already making a difference to the lives of many other young people.

Later William met with volunteers from the NSPCC where he discussed what could be done to prevent further bullying online

The NSPCC have worked together with Facebook and Snapchat to help them with alterations to their sites

William also met members of the Youth taskforce which is chaired by the founder of lastminute.com

The royal also met with William parents from 'Internet Matters' a non-profit organisation that targets cyberbullying during his visit

William's interest in preventing cyberbullying began shortly after the birth of his own son

She said: 'He's got the power to bring together so many important people and they will listen to him.

'For him to actually be so passionate about creating this code of conduct and helping so many people, I think it's amazing.'

She added: 'He said to myself and Lucy, Felix's mum, that he was sorry that it took so long to get to this point, but he has nothing to apologise for because he's working so hard to make sure it doesn't happen to other children and other parents - and that's incredible.'

For the last 18 months, the Royal Foundation's Taskforce on the Prevention of Cyberbullying has been working on ways to create a safer space for young people online.

Facebook and Snapchat are exploring alterations to their sites which allow victims to access help, which was created with the NSPCC.

The Duke of Cambridge is spearheading a fresh battle against online abuse with the support of a task force made up of major tech firms and charities and visited Google in London today

The Duke of Cambridge is greeted by James Okulaja from the young people's anti-bullying panel, as he arrives for the final meeting of The Royal Foundation's Taskforce on the Prevention of Cyberbullying, at Google in King's Cross

It will be trialled among groups of young people, Kensington Palace said, with William hoping it can soon be rolled out universally.

The task force's code of conduct, which is said to be national and youth-led, encourages young people to consider how they behave online.

It asks them to stop and consider what the situation is before joining in negative activity online, speak to an adult, a charity or report any abuse if they are concerned, and offer support to the individual being targeted.

Facebook and Snapchat are exploring alterations to their sites which allow victims to access help, which was created with the NSPCC

The Duke of Cambridge (left) with Matt Brittin, Google's head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as he arrives for the final meeting of The Royal Foundation's Taskforce on the Prevention of Cyberbullying

Organisations including Google, Apple, EE and Twitter have all been involved in the project.

In a video released on Wednesday, the Duke warned that anonymity online can be 'really, really dangerous' as it allows cyberbullies to ignore the real-world impact of their actions.

His interest in the problem began shortly after the birth of his own son, Prince George, when he heard the story of a boy who killed himself as a result of online abuse.

The clip released by Kensington Palace shows William meeting Lucy Alexander, whose son Felix also killed himself, and cyberbullying victim Chloe Hine.

Ms Hine attempted to take her own life at the age of 13 after enduring an onslaught of abuse on the internet.

Listening to the experiences of the pair, the Duke tells them: 'I think it is worth reminding everyone what the human tragedy of what we are talking about here isn't just about companies and about online stuff – it's actually real lives that get affected.

'And the consequences, that is the big thing, the consequences of what happens if things are not kept in check in terms of what we say and what we do.

'We are still responsible for our own actions online – this anonymity, as you were saying, is really, really dangerous.'

In a video released on Wednesday, the Duke warned that anonymity online can be 'really, really dangerous'

Prince William looked dapper as he arrived to spearhead a fresh battle against online abuse

William is launching the campaign with the support of a task force made up of major tech firms and charities

Ms Alexander spoke of her son's slide into depression after he was targeted on social media, being excluded from parties and viewing himself as 'stupid and ugly'.

She said: 'It just ate away at him inside, I think, but I had no idea of the depth of his despair at all.'

Ms Alexander has been campaigning to raise awareness of the issue and has been invited to help the work of the task force.

The Duke told her: 'It is one thing when it happens in the playground and it's visible there and parents and teachers and other children can see it.

'Online, you're the only one who sees it, and it's so personal, isn't it? Really it goes straight to your bedroom.'

Ms Hine escaped her own personal torment by turning to writing to help her process her feelings.

William asked to hug both women after they shared their stories at Kensington Palace, thanking them for their 'brave' intervention.

The task force is chaired by the entrepreneur and founder of travel website lastminute.com Brent Hoberman.

Other members include the Anti-Bullying Alliance, BT, The Diana Award, Internet Matters, O2, Sky, Supercell, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Virgin Media.

The Taskforce has also committed to building a universal strategy for support information about cyberbullying, and to design new safety guidelines, Kensington Palace said.

Prince William yesterday praised a mother and a teenager for sharing their stories to raise awareness about cyberbullying.

The royal, 35, said Lucy Alexander and Chloe Hine were 'brave' for explaining how online abuse had impacted their lives, after inviting them to Kensington Palace to discuss the issue.

Mother Lucy described how her son Felix was affected by cyberbullying before taking his own life aged 17, while Chloe said she attempted suicide aged 13 after online attacks.

The moving video was released on Wednesday as the Duke of Cambridge prepares to unveil an action plan to prevent cyberbullying, after putting together a taskforce to look at the issue.

Prince William has praised two anti-bullying campaigners after they shared their experiences of how cyber abuse has affected their lives

In the clip, William can be seen listening intently as mother Lucy describes how her son Felix was affected by cyberbullying before going on to take his own life.

'Social media was his life. His whole world resolved around it. It was the way everyone communicated, and if you weren't on it you were isolated,' she explained.

'If he was invited to a party, someone would text saying 'You don't want to invite him, Everyone hates him'.'

'And all he saw was negative. He saw himself as stupid and ugly. It just ate away at him inside, I think, but I just no idea about the depth of his despair'.

The royal, 35, described Lucy Alexander and Chloe Hine as 'brave' for speaking so honestly about the issue

Chloe described how she attempted suicide aged 13 after being attacked online

Chloe, who also contributed to the Royal Foundation's Taskforce on the Prevention of Cyberbullying, described how she attempted to take her own life aged 13 after being attacked online.

'I was in this group and if I was to say something that agreed with a comment someone else would make that would then be twisted and it would go on and then people would just turn against me.

'They were like 'Oh she said this one thing that one time so let's all hate her for that' and it spiralled out of control from there really.'

She continued: 'I started to self-harm as a way to cope, to make me feel better, and then I decided that I couldn't take this anymore and I tried to end my life.'

Lucy described how her son Felix (pictured) was affected by cyberbullying before taking his own life aged 17

After hearing their stories, William thanked the pair for speaking to him, describing them both as 'brave'.

'It is so brave of you both to speak so honestly about it. I know it can't have been easy, but I can't thank you enough,' he said.

'I only wish that neither of you had gone through what you've gone through.'

He continued: 'I think it is worth reminding everyone what the human tragedy of what we are talking about here. It isn't just about companies and about online stuff, it's actually real lives that get affected.

In the video, William spoke about the 'human tragedy' caused by cyber bullying

It comes as he prepares to unveil an action plan to tackle cyber bullying on Thursday

'And the consequences, that's the big thing, the consequences of what happens if things aren't kept in check in terms of what we say and what we do, and we are still responsible for our actions online.

'This anonymity, as you're saying, is really, really dangerous.'

William has brought together the world's biggest internet firms, children's charities and parents, to work alongside the panel of young people to find ways to tackle cyberbullying.

The results of the taskforce set up by the royal and chaired by tech entrepreneur Brent Hoberman is set to be unveiled tomorrow.

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