Prince Harry Reflects on Princess Diana’s Death: ‘I Was So Angry with What Happened to Her’
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In The Me You Can’t See, Prince Harry gets vulnerable about how the loss of his mother, Princess Diana, impacted his mental well-being as a child and beyond. He shares his journey starting therapy, his early memories of his mom, and what he remembers of her funeral, among other revelations.
“I don’t want to think about her. Because if I think about her, then it’s going to bring up the fact that I can’t bring her back,” he candidly tells Oprah Winfrey, with whom he executive-produced the docuseries with the goal to challenge the stigmas surrounding mental health.
The Duke of Sussex started therapy four years ago “to heal myself from the past,” he says. He was only 12 years old when his mother was killed in a car accident after being chased by paparazzi. “For many, many years, I didn’t even think about it,” he said of the tragedy.
But when he does think of his mother, one of the first memories that comes to mind is her driving him and his brother, Prince William, in the car as kids, while being hounded by the press. He felt a sense of “helplessness,” being too young to protect his mother. (Today, Harry is very protective of his wife, Duchess Meghan, and other family against the British press.)
When it comes to Diana’s funeral, Harry’s memories are a little more numb. “Both of us were in shock,” Harry says of himself and his older brother. “It was like I was outside of my body ... showing one-tenth of the emotion that everyone else was showing.” He added, “I was so angry with what happened to her and the fact that there was no justice, at all.” Pained with the grief over his mother’s loss, he “decided not to talk about it,” just like everyone else around him at the time.
Now, Harry, a vocal mental health advocate, understands the importance of opening up about one’s emotional battles as a way to heal and to make others feel like they’re less alone. Of The Me you Can’t See, streaming now on Apple TV+, Harry says his hope is “that this series will show there is power in vulnerability, connection in empathy, and strength in honesty.”
If you or someone you know is in emotional crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text HELLO to 741741.
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