Prince Harry is not holding back on his feelings about his family, including his father, in a new five-part documentary series that premiered on Apple TV+ on Friday.
In The Me You Can't See, co-produced by Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey, the former royal sits down with the media mogul for an emotional talk about mental health. In it, the Duke of Sussex stresses that his family turned a blind eye to the struggles of his wife Meghan Markle, and says he will "never be bullied into silence".
Prince Harry also speaks about how his mother Princess Diana's death in 1997 pushed him to drugs and alcohol "to numb the pain".
The series comes out a day after the release of an independent inquiry in Britain that found that BBC journalist Martin Bashir used falsified documents to land a sensational 1995 sit-down with Diana, in which she detailed her troubled marriage to Prince Charles.
Here are six shocking revelations from The Me You Can't See:
He abused drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of his mother's death
Princess Diana and Prince Harry during a Heads of State Ceremony in Hyde Park, in London, Britain, May 7, 1995. Reuters
Prince Harry, 36, who has spoken before about the trauma of losing Diana in a Paris car crash and then having to walk as a 12-year-old behind his mother's coffin in her funeral cortege under the glare of the world's media, says he abused alcohol and drugs to numb the pain of losing his mother.
"I was willing to drink, I was willing to take drugs, I was willing to try and do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling," he tells Winfrey. "I would probably drink a week's worth in one day on a Friday or a Saturday night and I would find myself drinking not because I was enjoying it but because I was trying to mask something."
The loss of his mother accentuated fears about his own wife Meghan when she grappled with suicidal thoughts, although he says the British royal family neglected them both.
He suffered from panic attacks and anxiety in his 20s
Prince Harry arrives onstage to speak during the taping of the Vax Live in California. AFP
Harry says he buried his feelings for many years and still freaks out when he sees cameras.
"I was so angry with what happened to her [Diana] and the fact there was no justice at all ... the same people that chased her through that tunnel photographed her dying on the back seat of that car," he says.
"The clicking of cameras, and the flash of cameras makes my blood boil. It makes me angry. It takes me back to what happened to my mum, what I experienced as a kid."
He felt helpless he couldn't help his mother Diana
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Britain's Prince William, Earl Spencer, Britain's Prince Harry and Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales follow the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales, to Westminster Abbey in London for her funeral service in 1997. AFP
In the documentary, Harry speaks of walking behind Diana's coffin through the streets of London with his brother Prince William, father Prince Charles and uncle Earl Charles Spencer.
"The thing I remember most was the sound of the horses' hooves going along the Mall," he says. "It was like I was outside of my body, just walking along, doing what was expected of me, showing one tenth of the emotion that everyone was showing."
Years earlier, he recalled sitting in the back of his mother's car while she, in tears, was pursued by photographers.
"One of the feelings that comes up for me always is the helplessness. Being a guy and being too young to help a woman, in this case your mother, and that happened every single day," he says.
He reiterates his family lacks empathy
This official christening photograph released by the Duke and Duchess shows Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex with their son, Archie and the Duchess of Cornwall, Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Ms Doria Ragland, Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, near London, Britain July 6, 2019. Reuters
The British royal family turned a blind eye to his and Meghan's mental health struggles, Prince Harry says.
"I thought my family would help, but every single ask, request, warning, whatever it is, just got met with total silence or total neglect," he says, singling out his father.
"My father used to say to me when I was younger, to both William and I: 'It was like that for me, so it's going to be like that for you.' That doesn't make sense. Just because you suffered that doesn't mean that your kids have to suffer.
"In fact quite the opposite. If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences that you had, you can make it right for your kids," Prince Harry says.
He was scared to attend his grandfather's funeral
Prince Andrew (centre) with Prince Harry and Prince William, as they walk behind The Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin during the funeral of Prince Philip at Windsor Castle on April 17, 2021 in Windsor, England. Getty Images
Returning to London to attend Prince Philip's funeral last month meant once more facing a place where he felt trapped and hunted by cameras, Prince Harry says. It would be a test of his ability to cope with the anxiety that was bubbling up again.
"I was worried about it, I was afraid," Harry told The Associated Press while promoting The Me You Can't See.
He was able to work through any trepidation using coping skills learnt in therapy. "It definitely made it a lot easier, but the heart still pounds," he says.
Meghan helped him realise the importance of mental health
Prince Harry and Meghan in Asni, Morocco in 2019. Getty Images
Prince Harry also details his experience with therapy, saying it has "equipped me to be able to take on anything" and especially helped him cope with the death of his mother when he was 12.
"I knew that if I didn't do the therapy and fix myself that I was going to lose this woman who I could see spending the rest of my life with," he says, also saying that being with Meghan helped him realise the importance of mental health.
He says he began serious therapy about five years ago.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who announced in January 2020 that they would quit frontline royal duties, have relocated to California, where Meghan is from.
– 'The Me You Can't See' is now streaming on Apple TV+. Additional reporting by Reuters, AP and AFP
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
