Prince Harry tells Oprah Winfrey he ‘learned’ families feel ‘shame’ over mental health problems in fresh dig at royals
PRINCE Harry says he “learned” that families can “feel shame” when they hear of someone’s mental health problems in another thinly-veiled dig at the Royal Family.
His latest “truth bomb” came in a new episode of his bombshell mental health documentary The Me You Can’t See that aired on Apple TV on Thursday night.
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Titled “A Path Forward,” it features the Duke and co-producer Oprah Winfrey in a town-hall set-up describing the making of the series – which caused a fresh royal rift upon its release last week.
Speaking to actress Glenn Close, Harry, 36, tells of his experience with “parents” and “siblings” when it comes to opening up about mental health.
He says: “As parents, as siblings, certainly from what I’ve learned – there’s an element of shame we feel, because we’re like, ‘How could we not have seen it?'” Harry said.
“How did we not know? How did you not feel comfortable enough to come to me and share that with me?
“But we all know when people are suffering and people are struggling, that we’re all incredibly good at covering it up for those that know that we’re covering it up.”
In the new episode, Harry says:
Harry also says he “loves to see” when families “thrive” as they discuss mental health – after describing how he was met with silence by the Royals.
Speaking to Fatal Attraction star Close, 74, about her sister’s suicidal struggles, Harry says: “To see behind closed doors, the realities of a family struggling – but not just struggling, thriving because of that family connection.
“For me that’s the overwhelming positive of it.
“You as a family have had your fair amount of struggles – but what I see from this story that you’ve told and the experiences that you’ve been through, it has brought you so much closer together as a family – and I love to see that.”
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Zak Williams, whose father Robin Williams tragically died by suicide in 2014, spoke to the pair about grieving publicly versus privately.
“I had trouble differentiating that grieving process at first and it was really challenging for me,” Williams said. “I found myself extremely emotionally deregulated and feeling vulnerable and exposed when I wasn’t ready to be vulnerable.”
Harry also spoke about having to grieve the loss of a parent in front of the world.
“I think we have a lot of shared experience … when you see so many people around the world grieving for someone they feel as though they knew them better than you did because you’re unable to grieve yourself,” the prince said.
Throughout the series, Harry spoke in-depth about how not being able to properly mourn his mother Princess Diana after she died in a car crash in 1997 led to his own mental health struggles.
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In the sixth episode, the Duke also touched on the importance of saying “you’re not alone” to someone suffering from suicidal thoughts – after revealing in previous episodes that wife Meghan had considered taking her own life.
“So many people are afraid of being on the receiving end of that conversation,” Harry said about a loved one who may be considering hurting themselves, “because they don’t feel like they have the right tools to give the right advice.
“But what you [want] to say is ‘You’re there.’ Listen, because listening and being part of that conversation is without doubt the best first step that you can take.”
Harry and Oprah both agreed on the importance of letting someone who is struggling know, “You’re not alone.”
The doc series first premiered last Friday, with contributions from singer Lady Gaga, Syrian refugee Fawzi, and DeMar DeRozan of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.
Following the first episode, Oprah said that everyone is on a “spectrum” of mental health.
The pair discussed their mental health battles with anchor Robin Roberts on Good Morning America last week after the series premiered.
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The talk show host said: “One of the things that Prince Harry and I wanted was for people to understand that mental health and mental fitness is a spectrum and we’re all on a spectrum.
“Everybody either is or knows somebody who’s going through something.”
Harry went on to speak about how the world-broadcasted death of his mother impacted his own mental health.
He said: “There were so many people of all ages that need to heal and that also are for one reason or another unable to heal or may be unaware that they need to heal.
“If we hold onto grief it manifests itself and appears later in life – that is what I’ve learned from this process.”
Harry spoke out about his wife Meghan‘s mental health struggles, saying: “Meghan decided to share with me the suicidal thoughts and the practicalities of how she was going to end her life.
“The scariest thing for her was her clarity of thought.”
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The Duke also revealed that Meghan woke up in the middle of the night “crying into her pillow” as “heartbreaking” bullying claims emerged days before their Oprah interview.
In March, an insider told The Times that Meghan drove two personal assistants out of the household and undermined the confidence of a third – which prompted Buckingham Palace to launch a full-scale investigation.
Describing the impact the allegations had on his wife, Harry said: “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.”
The Duke also accused his family of showing “total neglect” for his mental health woes, claiming his father Prince Charles let him “suffer.”
And in stunningly candid moments, Harry launched blistering attacks on his close relatives – and admitted to past drug use and booze binges to escape from his anguish.
He revealed that he’s been in therapy for “four or five years” as he opened up about turning his back on Britain and his family to “break the cycle” of grief being passed down the generations.
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Harry spoke in the documentary about suffering through a “nightmare time” in his life from when he was 28 until 32.
He said: “I’m freaking out every single time I jump in the car or see a camera. I would just start sweating.”
Harry’s Town Hall appearance came just months after he and Meghan sat down in a bombshell interview with Oprah that rocked the Palace.
YOU’RE NOT ALONE
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
