Prince Harry, 42, recently disclosed his struggle with depression shortly after he and his wife, Meghan Markle, moved to Canada, stepping back from their roles as senior members of the British Royal Family. The Duke of Sussex shared these personal insights during a new MasterClass session, which focuses on themes of grief, resilience, and the profound impact of losing his mother, Princess Diana. His revelations offer a candid look into the mental health challenges he faced following a significant life transition.
"You would think I had the best help in the world. I’m a prince, for God’s sake, but I was still grieving and didn’t have any place to put those feelings." Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
For years, Prince Harry lived under the intense scrutiny that accompanies royal life, a period he described as characterized by constant stress and unresolved grief. He noted that these pressures, combined with the lingering impact of his mother's death in 1997 when he was just 12, left him operating almost entirely on adrenaline. Despite his privileged position, he found himself without an adequate outlet for his emotions. "You would think I had the best help in the world. I’m a prince, for God’s sake, but I was still grieving and didn’t have any place to put those feelings," he stated, reflecting on emotions that had been building for "15 or 20 years."
The dramatic shift in his mental state occurred after he and Meghan sought distance from royal pressures, relocating to Canada. Harry anticipated finding immediate relief, but instead, the sudden cessation of the high-stress environment led to an unexpected "adrenaline crash." He described this as an experience "unlike anything I’d ever felt before," occurring "within two or three days of leaving that stressful environment." Harry explained that he had become so accustomed to functioning under pressure that its absence left him disoriented. "It was as though I needed stress for my brain to function," he recounted, adding, "I became useless around the house. I slipped into depression for about two weeks and felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline."
The Duke of Sussex now believes that much of his earlier life was shaped by an emotional shutdown, directly linking it to the trauma of his mother's death. He revealed that he "didn’t cry when I was told my mum died, only at her burial, and then not again for nearly two decades." At the time, suppressing these emotions felt like a display of strength. "I was convinced that was strength, but it wasn’t," he acknowledged, clarifying, "It was a 12-year-old boy with no permission to fall apart and no roadmap for how to heal." Guilt also played a significant role in his emotional numbness, as he felt that happiness without Diana would betray her memory. "I’d spent so long emotionally numb because I felt disloyal and guilty at the possibility of being happy without her," he shared. "I felt I had to stay sad and emotionally shut down to prove I missed her."
Therapy proved to be a pivotal turning point for Harry. He recalled a therapist encouraging him to use his mother’s perfume as a way to reconnect with memories he feared had vanished. He described the experience as being "transported to another time," noting that the scent helped "knocking certain bricks through so that I could see through and certain memories and experiences could start seeping back." This process brought forth emotions and experiences that had been buried for years. Through therapy, Harry also gained a new perspective on his mother’s wishes, realizing "that what I discovered was that she just wanted me to be happy. That was a huge mental shift for me."
Harry also reflected on his military career, seeing it as another avenue for the adrenaline-fueled emotional avoidance that had characterized his life. For "15 or 20 years, when people asked, ‘Are you okay?’ my answer was always, ‘I’m fine’," he said, describing this as "numbness" and "emotional shutdown." This mindset, he explained, drove him to join the military at age 20, serving as "the perfect distraction." However, his deployment to Afghanistan inadvertently brought other buried traumas to the surface, as "the things I saw and experienced appeared to trigger other traumas that had been stored within me."
Today, Prince Harry emphasizes the stabilizing force of his family, particularly his wife and children. He highlighted "the energy, joy and happiness I get from being with my family, especially our children, and from being on the ground doing my work" as the biggest factor for him. He endeavors to maintain a "10-day rule," trying not to spend more than that amount of time away from Meghan and their children, stressing the importance of "balancing my work and sense of purpose with being a dad and a husband."
The Duke of Sussex has become a prominent advocate for mental health treatment, including psychedelic-assisted therapy, which he believes can help individuals overcome emotional barriers. "Psychedelic assisted therapy is no longer a fringe idea or thought," he asserted, adding, "It’s really becoming, I think, mainstream." His MasterClass session, released just before World Mental Health Day, offers one of his most extensive and personal accounts to date, detailing his journey through grief, depression, and the emotional numbness he experienced for years, which fully manifested after his departure from royal life. His openness aims to destigmatize mental health discussions and encourage others to seek help.
