Prince Harry has not hidden his grief about the loss of his mother, Princess Diana, on Aug. 31, 1997, as an adult, but he did silently suffer as a 12-year-old young boy. The focus on mental health and grief was not as extensive then as it is today, and the Duke of Sussex opened up about the impact that had on his life in a new interview for Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a U.K.-based charity that assists children who have lost their parents in the military.
Harry, the global ambassador for the organization, revealed how the concept of time is confusing while grieving as a child. “It’s so easy as a kid to think or convince yourself—I would know, I was 12—that you need to be sad for as long as possible to prove to them that they’re missed,” he explained. “But then there’s this realization that they must want me to be happy.”
The death of the Princess of Wales had distinct lines — the mourning period and then the celebration period. It was too easy to push away the pain and instead, celebrate Diana to force the idea that “things will get easier.” It took the Duke of Sussex years to seek help for his sadness and grief over the loss of his mother, and he’s worked with organizations to help end the stigma surrounding mental health.
In his 2021 Apple TV+ series, The Me You Can’t See, Harry spoke about the importance of therapy. “To make that decision to receive help is not a sign of weakness,” he said. “In today’s world, more than ever, it is a sign of strength.” As a father to Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, the royal wants to ensure that he “breaks the cycle” and doesn’t “pass it on” to his kids.
“I don’t think we should be pointing the finger or blaming anybody, but certainly, when it comes to parenting, if I’ve experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered,” he said on the Armchair Expert podcast in 2021. That image of a sad, little boy following his mother’s casket in London may never leave us, but Harry is making sure he’s mentally healthy for his kids and future generations.
Before you go, click here to see the best photos of Princess Diana playing with William and Harry.
