Prince Harry has opened up about his mental health struggles and revealed that he endured two years of “total chaos” in his late twenties after putting off dealing with his mum’s death.
The prince’s mother, Princess Diana, died in a car accident in 1997 when he was just 12. Harry told the Telegraph’s Mad World podcast that the anxiety he felt while in public and during royal engagements in recent years finally prompted him to seek counselling.
“It was twenty years of not thinking about it and then two years of total chaos. My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand, refusing ever to think about my mum because why would that help?
I spent most of my life saying ‘I’m fine’… saying ‘fine’ was so much better than having to go into the details.
I didn’t know what was wrong with me – I thought this must be part of growing up.”
The royal admitted that he finally got help at the age of 28, having “shut down all his emotions” in the years after his mum passed away.
Speaking to Bryony Gordon on the podcast, Harry admitted to being nervous about sharing his experience but said that he’s now “in a good place” with his mental health.
The prince was speaking out as part of his involvement with Heads Together, a mental health and wellbeing organisation. He said the charity work that he, Prince William, and the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, had done over the past few years made them realise how widespread mental health issues are and was the cue for them to get behind the cause.
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