TV doctor Hilary Jones says “damaged” Meghan Markle and Prince Harry “built a wall around themselves” amid her mental health struggle.
In their explosive Oprah Winfrey interview, Meghan claimed she was told she would not be able to seek help over her suicidal thoughts because it “wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
Dr Hilary Jones on Good Morning Britain today
As host Piers Morgan said he was in “disbelief” that Meghan had been refused help, 67-year-old Hilary said Meghan’s allegation was “extraordinary”, adding: “The Royal Family have a Royal doctor. There is plenty of help available.
“I can’t believe she was stopped from going to see someone who could counsel her, talk through her issues.
“Because two people who are damaged come together reinforces the problems.
“They support each other and build a wall around themselves.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey
“It amplifies the problem and so does being Royal.”
During Meghan’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey which aired in the UK last night, pregnant Meghan broke down in tears and said: “I was ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry because of how much loss he suffered.
“But I knew that if I didn’t say it I would do it – because I just didn’t want to be alive anymore.
“I didn’t want to be alive anymore. That was a very clear and real and frightening, constant thought.
Meghan broke down in tears during her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey
“And I remember, I remember how he just cradled me.”
Piers was yesterday slammed by mental health charity for “not believing Meghan had suicidal thoughts”.
But today he insisted: “It’s not for me to question if she felt suicidal.
Piers Morgan said he was ‘in disbelief’ that Meghan was refused help
“My real concern was a disbelief, frankly, – and I’m prepared to be proven wrong about this, and if I am wrong it’s a scandal – that she went to a senior member of the royal household told them she was suicidal and was told she could not have any help because it would be a bad look for the family.
“If that is true, if that person is still there they should be fired and the Royal Family have serious questions about how they handled it.
“I would also throw in the mix that Prince Harry belongs to the top of several mental health charities.
“It does beg the question to me that if he sought help himself, which he’s talked about openly, why could he not in that eventuality have got Meghan the help she needed maybe via the charities he represents.”
Meghan said she had tried to reach out for help after struggling with her mental health
Dr Hilary later added: “It was real for Meghan, she felt like she could not approach anybody in total confidence without the press getting hold of it and talk about the issues that were inside her heart.
“She didn’t feel she could do that. Whether we believe that or not it doesn’t matter, it was real for her.
“And to express the fact she had suicidal thoughts and was prevented from getting help for that, it is extraordinary to hear that.”
He continued: “I think they tried to help each other. In doing so they walled everybody else off.
“We hear how tenderly he looked after her, he cradled her, they probably cried in each other’s arms and felt very marginalised and very isolated. Going to a third party probably didn’t seem a possibility or realistic to them.
“It amplified the problem. The family became ever more remote and distance. What was needed was reconciliation.”
The Duchess of Sussex said she begged for help from the Firm after struggling with her mental health – saying it was her husband who “saved” her by ultimately quitting the Royal Family.
The Duchess of Sussex, who was six months pregnant at the time, said: “I think he saved all of us.
“He ultimately called it – we’ve got to find a way for us, for Archie and you made a decision that certainly saved my life and saved all of us.
“You need to want to be saved.”
