Prince Harry has claimed the Royal Family told him to “just play the game” in order to make life easier as he struggled with mental health issues.
In a new documentary with Oprah Winfrey, Harry opened up about his mental health struggles in the past, revealing that he suffered from panic attacks after his mother Princess Diana’s death.
He spoke about attempts to get assistance from his family with the attacks at the Prince and his wife Meghan Markle online.
The Duke of Sussex said: “Every single ask, request, warning, whatever it is, to stop just got met with total silence or total neglect.”
“Towards my late 20s I was starting to ask questions of ‘Should I really be here?’. And that was when I suddenly started going: ‘You can’t keep hiding from this,” Harry explained in the first episode.
“Family members have said ‘Just play the game and your life will be easier. But I’ve got a hell of a lot of my mum in me.
“I feel as though I’m outside of the system but I’m still stuck there,” he explained. “The only way to free yourself and break out is to tell the truth.”
Harry said that the place he felt most comfortable was in Afghanistan, “away from the media”.
“The happiest times of my life was the 10 years in the Army, without question,” he said. “Because I got to wear the same uniform as everybody else, I had to do all the same training as everybody else. I started from the bottom like everybody else.
“There was no special treatment because of who I was. That was where I felt my most normal, and actually within my younger years the most comfortable I felt was out in Afghanistan, away from the media.”
(Image: GETTY)
The documentary, which focuses on mental health, is the first part of an Apple TV+ deal, with Oprah and Harry at the helm as executive producers.
Its first episode, entitled Say It Out Loud, premiered on May 21 on the streaming platform.
Talking about the programme Oprah said: “Now more than ever, there is an immediate need to replace the shame surrounding mental health with wisdom, compassion, and honesty.
“Our series aims to spark that global conversation.”
(Image: Apple TV)
The Duke of Sussex added about the programme: “We are born into different lives, brought up in different environments, and as a result are exposed to different experiences. But our shared experience is that we are all human.
“The majority of us carry some form of unresolved trauma, loss, or grief, which feels—and is—very personal.
“Yet the last year has shown us that we are all in this together, and my hope is that this series will show there is power in vulnerability, connection in empathy, and strength in honesty.”
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It isn’t the first time he has collaborated with Oprah – he and wife Meghan Markle conducted their first explosive tell-all interview with the Hollywood icon earlier this year.
In it, Meghan revealed that her son Archie had been denied a title due to his skin colour, as well as discussing her own experience with suicidal thoughts.
Buckingham Palace has been approached for comment.
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website. – this blurb in every story at the bottom
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
