The 32-year-old British royal reveals losing his mother at the age of 12 made him shut down all of his emotions for 20 years.
- Apr 17, 2017
AceShowbiz - Prince Harry has opened up about his struggle to cope with grief following the death of his mother, Princess Diana. The 32-year-old redhead reveals in an interview with Telegraph's Bryony Gordon that the heartbreaking loss made him shut down all of his emotions for two decades.
"I've spent most of my life saying 'I'm fine' ... and most of us aren't up for going that deep. So today I'm OK. I'm a little bit nervous. I'm a little bit tight in the chest but otherwise fine," he says about normalizing mental health struggles.
Harry goes on sharing how losing his mom affected his life, "I can safely say that losing my mom at the age of 12 and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years has had quite a serious effect on not only my personal life but also my work as well."
"My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand, refusing to ever think about my mum because why would that help?" he continues. "It's only going to make you sad, it's not going to bring her back. So from an emotional side, I was like, 'Right, don't ever let your emotions be part of anything.' "
"I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle," the British royal admits.
After going through two years of "total chaos" and with the support of his brother Prince William, Harry began seeking professional help when he was 28. He says that he saw therapist "more than a couple of times, but it's great."
Harry also reveals that he struggled with aggression and channeled that energy into boxing. "That really saved me because I was on the verge of punching someone," he says.
Harry, who has been dating Meghan Markle for several months, says now he's in a "good place." "Because of the process I have been through over the past two and a half years, I've now been able to take my work seriously, been able to take my private life seriously as well, and been able to put blood, sweat and tears into the things that really make a difference and things that I think will make a difference to everybody else," he says.
