PRINCE Harry said his family showed “neglect” for his mental health and Prince Charles let him “suffer” in his new series with Oprah Winfrey.
The Duke of Sussex, 36, has teamed up with the US chat show powerhouse to work on the series The Me You Can’t See which focuses on mental well-being.
The series premieres just over two months after Oprah’s bombshell interview with Harry and his wife Meghan Markle in which they speculated at racism in the Royal family.
In the first episode of the series, Harry disclosed that he’s been in therapy for four years now, telling Oprah he sought help to “heal myself from the past.”
He spoke about turning to drinking and experimenting with drugs to deal with unresolved issues and pain.
“I would find myself drinking, not because I was enjoying it but because I was trying to mask something,” Harry said.
Prince Harry spoke about:
- Prince Charles not ‘making it right’ for him and Prince William
- Turning to drinking and drugs in his late 20s: ‘I would drink a week’s worth in one day’
- The public being allowed to mourn his mother Princess Diana, while he was not
- How he’s convinced the media ‘will not stop’ until wife Meghan Markle ‘dies’
In the third episode of the series, Harry spoke about how his father, Prince Charles, advised his sons to adapt to the constant media attention.
“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,’” Harry said.
“That doesn’t make sense. Just because you suffered, that doesn’t mean your kids have to suffer. Actually quite the opposite.
“If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences you had, you can make it right for your kids.”
Harry said that he has made the decision to put mental health first.
“That’s what we’re doing and that’s what we will continue to do,” he said. “Isn’t this all about breaking the cycle? Isn’t it all about making sure that history doesn’t repeat itself?”
The Duke also spoke about his mother Princess Diana’s death and a haunting memory he has of her driving him as a boy and being chased by several paparazzi on mopeds.
“She was almost unable to drive because of the tears. There was no protection,” he said.
“One of the feelings that comes up with me always is the helplessness…That happened every single day until the day she died.”
The prince says he was never given the space or the time to really mourn his mother’s death, and that led him to eventually try drinking and drugs to numb lingering pain.
Harry said he would try to “feel less” of what he was feeling and would abstain from drinking all week and then drink a week’s worth in one sitting as a coping mechanism.
The series also features special guests talking about their own mental health experiences, including Lady Gaga and Glenn Close.
The episodes tackle different topics related to mental health, such as not being afraid to ask for help, finding what works for you, and finding the right community to heal.
Meghan revealed during the high-profile interview earlier this year that her mental health suffered while she was living in the UK and that she was not given the help she needed when she reportedly felt suicidal.
Harry also spoke about trying to get help from his family during this difficult time when his wife was “struggling.”
“I thought my family would help, but every single ask, request, warning, whatever, it is just got met with total silence, total neglect,” he said.
Harry’s episode was teased in a tralier for the series released last week amid reports he would drop “truthbombs” in a “deeply personal” interview.
It showed clips of Harry as a 12-year-old at his mother’s funeral and now with his wife, who looked over his shoulder as he worked on a laptop.
“To make that decision to receive help is not a sign of weakness. In today’s world, more than ever, it is a sign of strength,” he said.
“The results of this year will be felt for decades,” Harry added over a photo of Meghan reading to their son Archie.
“By kids, families, husbands, wives — everybody.”
It comes after Harry last week told Dax Shepard on his podcast that his father Prince Charles passed on “genetic pain” from his own troubled childhood.
During the brutally frank chat about his mental health with the podcast host and actor, Harry also claimed that his life was “a mixture between The Truman Show and being in a zoo.”
In his interview with Oprah earlier this year, the Duke had claimed he believed his father and brother, Prince William, are “trapped” in their Royal Family roles.
He said that he “didn’t see a way out” of the Firm in the explosive interview and claimed he was also previously “trapped.”
The Duke told Oprah that he would have quit if it wasn’t for Meghan.
Harry will reportedly appear on Good Morning America on Friday morning after the series premiere to discuss the show.
In another episode, Oprah speaks to Harry about her own battle with mental health.
“All over the world, people are in some kind of mental, psychological, emotional pain. Being able to say, ‘This is what happened what happened to me,’ is crucial,’” she said.
They have both said they are speaking now about their mental well being to “destigmatise a highly misunderstood subject and give hope to viewers.”
Others involved include singer Lady Gaga, Syrian refugee Fawzi, Glenn Close, and DeMar DeRozan of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.
