Prince Harry.
01of 19
On Taking After His Mother
Prince Harry, Prince William and Princess Diana.A.G. Carrick/Diana Memorial Fund/Getty
“If your parents don’t want to talk about it and your friends can’t remind you about it, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t say, ‘Hang on a second, I may be the product of my upbringing.’ "
02of 19On Supressing His Feelings About His MotherPrince Harry and Princess Diana.John Shelley Collection/Avalon/Getty"I don’t want to think about her, because if I think about her then it’s going to bring up the fact that I can’t bring her back and it’s just going to make me sad. What’s the point in thinking about something sad, what’s the point of thinking about someone that you’ve lost and you’re never going to get back again. And I just decided not to talk about it. No one was talking about it.”
02of 19
On Supressing His Feelings About His Mother
Prince Harry and Princess Diana.John Shelley Collection/Avalon/Getty
“I don’t want to think about her, because if I think about her then it’s going to bring up the fact that I can’t bring her back and it’s just going to make me sad. What’s the point in thinking about something sad, what’s the point of thinking about someone that you’ve lost and you’re never going to get back again. And I just decided not to talk about it. No one was talking about it.”
03of 19On London Being a Trigger for HimPrincess Diana and Prince Harry.Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty"I was like, ‘Why do I feel so uncomfortable?’ And of course, for me, London is a trigger, unfortunately, because of what happened to my mom and because of what I experienced and what I saw."
03of 19
On London Being a Trigger for Him
Princess Diana and Prince Harry.Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty
“I was like, ‘Why do I feel so uncomfortable?’ And of course, for me, London is a trigger, unfortunately, because of what happened to my mom and because of what I experienced and what I saw.”
04of 19
On His Mother and Her Experience with the U.K. Tabloid Media
“She was almost unable to drive because of the tears, there was no protection. One of the feelings that come up is helplessness. Being too young, being a guy too young to be able to help a woman, in this case, your mother. And that happened every single day until the day she died.”
05of 19On Making His Mom ProudPrincess Diana, Prince Harry and Prince William.Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty"Yeah, I have no doubt that my mom would be incredibly proud of me. I’m living the life that she wanted to live for herself, living the life that she wanted us to be able to live.““So not only do I know that she’s incredibly proud of me, but that she’s helped me get here. And I’ve never felt her presence more as I have done over the last year.”
05of 19
On Making His Mom Proud
Princess Diana, Prince Harry and Prince William.Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty
“Yeah, I have no doubt that my mom would be incredibly proud of me. I’m living the life that she wanted to live for herself, living the life that she wanted us to be able to live.”
“So not only do I know that she’s incredibly proud of me, but that she’s helped me get here. And I’ve never felt her presence more as I have done over the last year.”
06of 19On Struggling in the Public EyePrince Harry.Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty"Every single time I jump in the car and every single time I see a camera. I would just start sweating. I would feel as though my body temperature was two or three degrees warmer than everybody else in the room. I would convince myself that my face was bright red and that everybody could see how I was feeling, but no one would know why. So it was embarrassing. You get in your head about it.”
06of 19
On Struggling in the Public Eye
Prince Harry.Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty
“Every single time I jump in the car and every single time I see a camera. I would just start sweating. I would feel as though my body temperature was two or three degrees warmer than everybody else in the room. I would convince myself that my face was bright red and that everybody could see how I was feeling, but no one would know why. So it was embarrassing. You get in your head about it.”
07of 19On Being Unable to Escape the Tabloid MediaChris Jackson/Getty"We get followed. Photographed, chased, harassed. The clicking of cameras and the flashes of the cameras makes my blood boil. It makes me angry and takes me back to what happened to my mom and what I experienced as a kid. Not just traditional media, but also social media platforms as well. I felt completely helpless."
07of 19
On Being Unable to Escape the Tabloid Media
Chris Jackson/Getty
“We get followed. Photographed, chased, harassed. The clicking of cameras and the flashes of the cameras makes my blood boil. It makes me angry and takes me back to what happened to my mom and what I experienced as a kid. Not just traditional media, but also social media platforms as well. I felt completely helpless.”
08of 19On Starting TherapyMeghan Markle and Prince Harry.Chris Jackson/Getty"There was a lot of learning right at the beginning of our relationship [withMeghan Markle]. She was shocked to be coming backstage of the institution of the British royal family. When she said, ‘I think you need to see someone,’ that was in reaction to an argument we had. And in that argument, not knowing about it, I reverted back to 12-year-old Harry.““The moment I started therapy and probably within my second session, my therapist turned around to me, and said, ‘That sounds like you are reverting to 12-year-old Harry.’ I felt somewhat ashamed and defensive, but, ‘How dare you, you’re calling me a child.’ She was, ‘I’m not calling you a child. I’m expressing sympathy and empathy for you for what happened to you when you were a child. You never processed it. You were never allowed to talk about it. And all of a sudden now, it’s coming up in different ways as projection.’ That was the start of a learning journey for me. I became aware that I’d been living in a bubble, within this family, within this institution, I was, sort of, almost trapped in a thought process or a mindset.”
08of 19
On Starting Therapy
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.Chris Jackson/Getty
“There was a lot of learning right at the beginning of our relationship [withMeghan Markle]. She was shocked to be coming backstage of the institution of the British royal family. When she said, ‘I think you need to see someone,’ that was in reaction to an argument we had. And in that argument, not knowing about it, I reverted back to 12-year-old Harry.”
“The moment I started therapy and probably within my second session, my therapist turned around to me, and said, ‘That sounds like you are reverting to 12-year-old Harry.’ I felt somewhat ashamed and defensive, but, ‘How dare you, you’re calling me a child.’ She was, ‘I’m not calling you a child. I’m expressing sympathy and empathy for you for what happened to you when you were a child. You never processed it. You were never allowed to talk about it. And all of a sudden now, it’s coming up in different ways as projection.’ That was the start of a learning journey for me. I became aware that I’d been living in a bubble, within this family, within this institution, I was, sort of, almost trapped in a thought process or a mindset.”
09of 19On Taking the Lid Off His EmotionsPrince Harry.“It was like someone had taken a lid off all of the emotions that I’ve suppressed for so many years suddenly came to the forefront. And I saw GPs [general practitioners], I saw doctors, I saw therapists, I saw alternative therapists. I saw all sorts of people. But it was meeting and being with Meghan, I knew that if I didn’t do therapy and fix myself, that I was going to lose this woman who I could see spending the rest of my life with.”
09of 19
On Taking the Lid Off His Emotions
“It was like someone had taken a lid off all of the emotions that I’ve suppressed for so many years suddenly came to the forefront. And I saw GPs [general practitioners], I saw doctors, I saw therapists, I saw alternative therapists. I saw all sorts of people. But it was meeting and being with Meghan, I knew that if I didn’t do therapy and fix myself, that I was going to lose this woman who I could see spending the rest of my life with.”
10of 19On ‘Squashing’ His Feelings Before Therapy"I am one of the first people to recognize that firstly, I had a fear of — when I first went to therapy — a fear of losing. Four years of therapy for an individual that never thought that they would ever need or do therapy is … that’s a long time. I wasn’t in an environment where it was encouraged to talk about it either. That was sort of, like, squashed.”
10of 19
On ‘Squashing’ His Feelings Before Therapy
“I am one of the first people to recognize that firstly, I had a fear of — when I first went to therapy — a fear of losing. Four years of therapy for an individual that never thought that they would ever need or do therapy is … that’s a long time. I wasn’t in an environment where it was encouraged to talk about it either. That was sort of, like, squashed.”
11of 19On Experiencing BurnoutMatt Cardy/Getty"Now in hindsight, looking back, it’s all about timing. Towards my late 20s, everything became really hectic for me. To the point of exhaustion, I was traveling all over the place because from my family’s perspective, I guess I was the person who was, like, ‘We need somebody to go there. Nepal, Harry. You go.’ I was always the yes man. I was always one who didn’t say yes, but then yes, yes, of course. Yes. Yes, yes, led to burnout."
11of 19
On Experiencing Burnout
Matt Cardy/Getty
“Now in hindsight, looking back, it’s all about timing. Towards my late 20s, everything became really hectic for me. To the point of exhaustion, I was traveling all over the place because from my family’s perspective, I guess I was the person who was, like, ‘We need somebody to go there. Nepal, Harry. You go.’ I was always the yes man. I was always one who didn’t say yes, but then yes, yes, of course. Yes. Yes, yes, led to burnout.”
12of 19
On Using Drinking and Drugs to Cope
“I was willing to drink, I was willing to take drugs, I was willing to try and do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling. But I slowly became aware that, okay, 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.”
13of 19On Feeling Ashamed to Go to His Family"I’m also really angry with myself that we’re stuck in this situation. I was ashamed that it had got this bad. I was ashamed to go to my family because — to be honest with you, like a lot of other people my age could probably relate to — I know that I’m not going to get from my family what I need."
13of 19
On Feeling Ashamed to Go to His Family
“I’m also really angry with myself that we’re stuck in this situation. I was ashamed that it had got this bad. I was ashamed to go to my family because — to be honest with you, like a lot of other people my age could probably relate to — I know that I’m not going to get from my family what I need.”
14of 19On Being Met with Silence By His FamilyPrince Harry.Samir Hussein/WireImage"I thought my family would help, but every single ask, request, warning, whatever, it is just got met with total silence, total neglect. We spent four years trying to make it work. We did everything that we possibly could to stay there and carry on doing the role and doing the job. But Meghan was struggling,"
14of 19
On Being Met with Silence By His Family
Prince Harry.Samir Hussein/WireImage
“I thought my family would help, but every single ask, request, warning, whatever, it is just got met with total silence, total neglect. We spent four years trying to make it work. We did everything that we possibly could to stay there and carry on doing the role and doing the job. But Meghan was struggling,”
15of 19
Victoria Jones - WPA Pool/Getty
“One of the biggest lessons I’ve ever learned in life is you’ve sometimes got to go back and to deal with really uncomfortable situations and to be able to process it in order to be able to heal. For me, therapy has equipped me to be able to take on anything.”
“That’s why I’m here now. That’s why my wife is here now. That feeling of being trapped within the family is … There was no option to leave. Eventually, when I made that decision for my family, I was still told you can’t do this.”
16of 19On Meghan’s Reaction to Bullying Claims Before Their Oprah InterviewMeghan Markle and Prince Harry.Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty"I was woken up in the middle of the night to her crying in her pillow because she doesn’t want to wake me up, because I’m already carrying too much. That’s heartbreaking. I held her, we talked, she cried, and she cried, and she cried."
16of 19
On Meghan’s Reaction to Bullying Claims Before Their Oprah Interview
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty
“I was woken up in the middle of the night to her crying in her pillow because she doesn’t want to wake me up, because I’m already carrying too much. That’s heartbreaking. I held her, we talked, she cried, and she cried, and she cried.”
17of 19
On How Being a Dad Changed His Perspective
MARC GIDDINGS/AFP/Getty
18of 19On Being Better for His Children(From left to right) Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry.Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images"My father used to say to me, when I was younger, he used to say to both William and I, ‘Well, it was like that for me. So it’s going to be like that for you.’ That doesn’t make sense — just because you suffered it doesn’t mean that your kids have to suffer.““In fact, quite the opposite. If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences that you had, that you can make it right for your kids. We chose to put our mental health first. That’s what we’re doing. And that’s what we will continue to do. Isn’t this all about breaking the cycle? Isn’t it all about making sure that history doesn’t repeat itself? That whatever pain and suffering has happened to you, that you don’t pass on.”
18of 19
On Being Better for His Children
(From left to right) Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry.Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images
“My father used to say to me, when I was younger, he used to say to both William and I, ‘Well, it was like that for me. So it’s going to be like that for you.’ That doesn’t make sense — just because you suffered it doesn’t mean that your kids have to suffer.”
“In fact, quite the opposite. If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences that you had, that you can make it right for your kids. We chose to put our mental health first. That’s what we’re doing. And that’s what we will continue to do. Isn’t this all about breaking the cycle? Isn’t it all about making sure that history doesn’t repeat itself? That whatever pain and suffering has happened to you, that you don’t pass on.”
19of 19On His RegretsPrince Harry and Meghan Markle.Rosa Woods - Pool/Getty Images"Do I have any regrets? Yeah. My biggest regret is not making more of a stance earlier on in my relationship with my wife and calling out the racism when I did. History was repeating itself. My mother 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 going to stop until [Meghan] dies.”
19of 19
On His Regrets
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.Rosa Woods - Pool/Getty Images
“Do I have any regrets? Yeah. My biggest regret is not making more of a stance earlier on in my relationship with my wife and calling out the racism when I did. History was repeating itself. My mother 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 going to stop until [Meghan] dies.”
source: people.com
