After their controversial but famous interview in 2020, Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey created a docuseries about mental health called The Me You Can’t See. In it, Prince Harry speaks about Meghan Markle’s treatment by the royal family and how triggering it was. It strongly reminded him of his own late mother, Princess Diana, who was “chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone that wasn’t white, and now look what’s happened. You want to talk about history repeating itself? They’re not gonna stop until she dies.“
“How bad does it have to get?”
In the docuseries, Prince Harry speaks about his regrets about not calling out the racism toward Meghan earlier. “My father used to say to me when I was younger, ‘Well, it was like that for me, so it’s going to be like that for you,‘” Prince Harry said. “That doesn’t make sense. Just because you suffered, that doesn’t mean your kids have to suffer. In fact, quite the opposite. If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure whatever negative experience you had, you can make it right for your kids.“
His mother, Princess Diana, had separated from his father King Charles in the year 1992 and divorced in 1996. After that, she dated Egyptian-born Dodi Fayed. They both died in a car crash in 1997 in Paris while they were chased by the paparazzi. In 2008, Mohammed Al-Fayed, Dodi’s father, accused the royal family of being racist toward his son. He referred to them as the “Dracula family” who couldn’t stand the idea of a Muslim marrying the princess. [1]
Speaking of the paparazzi, Meghan Markle spoke about her suicidal thoughts in her interview with Oprah. She explained she “didn’t want to be alive anymore” because of the barrage of negative and damaging media coverage about her. These racist headlines included blaming her for “fueling human rights abuses, drought, and murder” for eating avocados and describing her mother’s hometown as “(almost straight outta Compton” and “gang-scarred”.
Her poor mental health was part of Prince Harry’s decision to leave the royal family. When he was told “you can’t do this,” he didn’t accept that. “I was like, well, ‘How bad does it have to get until I am allowed to do this? When she was going to end her life?’ It shouldn’t have to get to that.” [2]
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Prince Harry’s Struggle with Mental Health
In the docuseries, Prince Harry opens up about his struggle with mental health as he grew up. He was 12 when his mother died and he was never encouraged to seek help. “If people said, ‘How are you?’ I’d be like, ‘fine.’ Never happy. Never sad, just fine.’ Fine was the easy answer. But I was all over the place mentally,’” he said. “Family members have said just play the game and your life will be easier.”
He endured severe anxiety and panic attacks from his royal life. It all worsened in his late 20s when he had turned to partying, drugs, and drinking to cope. “I was willing to try and do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling,” Prince Harry said. “But I slowly became aware that I wasn’t drinking Monday to Friday, but I would probably drink a week’s worth in one day on a Friday or a Saturday night. And I would find myself drinking, not because I was enjoying it, but because I was trying to mask something,”
Then he hit his breaking point. “It was like someone had taken a lid off the emotions that I’ve suppressed for so many years suddenly came to the forefront,” he said.
Meghan, who was his girlfriend then, suggested he see a therapist during an argument. “Therapy has equipped me to be able to take on everything,” Prince Harry said. “That’s why I’m here now. That’s why my wife is here now… I became aware that I’d been living in a bubble, within this family, within this institution. I was almost trapped in a thought process or mindset.”
Here’s the trailer for The Me You Can’t See:
“She should be here”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle now live in Montecito, California, and are expecting a daughter. In the meantime, they raise their two-year-old son, Archie. Harry honors his mother’s memory by keeping a photo of her in Archie’s room. “I wish she could’ve met Meghan. I wish she was around for Archie…”
“It was one of the first words that he said, apart from ‘mama,’ ‘papa,’ it was then ‘grandma.’ Grandma Diana. It’s the sweetest thing, but at the same time, it makes me really sad because she should be here.” [3]
Keep Reading: Diana made sure Harry inherited her money for when he wanted to leave the royal family: “I think she saw it coming
Sources
- “Al Fayed attacks UK royals as ‘Dracula family‘.” CNN. Teres Martini. 2008
- “Prince Harry says the British press won’t stop until Meghan Markle dies like Princess Diana.” Insider. Maikhaila Friel. May 21, 2021
- “Prince Harry Compares Treatment of Meghan to Mom Princess Diana and Dodi: ‘History Was Repeating Itself’.” Inside Edition. Johanna Li. May 21, 2021