Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speak on stage during WE Day UK 2019 at The SSE Arena on March 06, 2019 in London, England. Getty Images
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speak on stage during WE Day UK 2019 at The SSE Arena on March 06, 2019 in London, England. Getty Images
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speak on stage during WE Day UK 2019 at The SSE Arena on March 06, 2019 in London, England. Getty Images
Prince Harry is once again emphasising that his family turned a blind eye to the struggles of his wife Meghan Markle, saying he will "never be bullied into silence".
In a new documentary series released on Friday on Apple TV+, the grandson of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II says he felt ashamed going to his family, because he knew "that I'm not going to get from my family what I need".
"I thought my family would help, but every single ask, request, warning, whatever it is, just got met with total silence or total neglect," Harry tells Oprah Winfrey in the emotional first episode of the showThe Me You Can't See, which he co-produced with Winfrey.
The series comes out a day after the release of an independent inquiry in Britain that found that a BBC journalist used falsified documents to land a sensational 1995 sit-down with Princess Diana, the mother of Harry and his elder brother William. In the Panaroma interview she detailed her troubled marriage to Prince Charles.
Both Prince Harry and his spouse have detailed mental struggles, with Meghan saying she had suicidal thoughts in 2019.
The couple sat with Winfrey at length for a CBS interview broadcast in early March, triggering the royal family's biggest crisis since Princess Diana died in a car crash in 1997.
Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in this undated handout photo. Reuters
Focused on combatting the stigma surrounding the issue of mental health, the new docuseries does not drop any new bombshells, but it sees the youngest son of Prince Charles and Diana deal a new blow to the Windsor family.
Prince Harry recently said 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. 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.
He said he was able to work through any trepidation using coping skills learnt in therapy.
The multi-episode docuseries, focusing on mental health and well-being, was created and produced by Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey. AP
“It definitely made it a lot easier, but the heart still pounds,” he said, revealing that he first saw a therapist approximately four years ago at the encouragement of then-girlfriend Meghan. They’d had an argument and she recognised his anger seemed misplaced.
In the new series, Prince Harry focuses criticism particularly on his father, who previously was accused of indifference towards his children.
"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,'" the Duke of Sussex, 36, tells Winfrey.
"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."
(L-R) Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrive to attend Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate on December 25, 2018 in King's Lynn, England. Getty Images
Prince Harry has spoken to his father several times since the CBS interview came out, notably after the funeral of his grandfather, according to British media.
But their relations remain tense.
The majority of Britons hold unfavourable opinions of Harry and Meghan, according to a recent YouGov poll, while Prince Charles's ratings have jumped.
Some British press accuses the couple of denouncing media treatment but also using coverage to boost their image.
In the series, Prince Harry says that as a boy he felt powerless to protect his mother, who was constantly hounded by the press.
He says his experience with therapy "equipped me to be able to take on anything" and especially helped him cope with the death of his mother when he was 12.
Being with Meghan, he says, helped him realise the importance of mental health: "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."
Being with Meghan helped him realise the importance of mental health, Prince Harry said. Getty Images
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in January 2020 announced they would quit frontline royal duties. They relocated to California, where Meghan is from.
In The Me You Can't See, Harry says his greatest regret is not "making more of a stance earlier in my relationship with my wife and calling out the racism" the former actor faced from British press and social media.
The prince does not direct any accusations of racism towards his family in the documentary, though in March he said a relative was concerned over his son's skin colour before he was born.
That allegation shook Buckingham Palace, with his brother Prince William, jumping to defend the institution: "We're very much not a racist family."
Prince Harry's self-work may be relatively recent but he and older brother William, The Duke of Cambridge, have long championed the importance of mental health. In 2016, Harry, William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, launched Heads Together, an initiative to speak up and not be ashamed to ask for help when mental well-being is at stake.
Their collective work led to interactions with people across the globe, from all walks of life, and they recognised a common thread. "Sharing your story in order to be able to save a life or help others is absolutely critical," says Harry.
Winfrey was already working with Apple to develop a series on mental health when a conversation with Harry sparked the idea to join forces.
“We were having a conversation and I asked him, ‘What are the two most important issues you think facing the world today?’ And he said immediately, ‘climate change and mental health.’ She mentioned the project and Winfrey recalls him later saying: ‘Oh, by the way, if you ever need any help with that … give me a call.’ And I went and turned around and said, ‘What’s your number?’”
Winfrey's partnership with Apple created a rare opportunity to reach the vast number of people who use the company's devices, Prince Harry said.
"If that's in a billion pockets on a billion screens, then maybe we can really start a global conversation about this," he says.
The Apple Original multi-part documentary series delves into mental health issues and feature segments from athletes and stars, including Lady Gaga and Glenn Close. Other participants in the series include NBA players DeMar DeRozan and Langston Galloway, Olympic boxer Virginia "Ginny" Fuchs and chef Rashad Armstead.
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- Margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars
- Energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- Infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes
- Many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
