Prince Harry opens up about mental health, Diana’s death, and biggest regret in new documentary with Oprah

Duke of Sussex says ‘history was repeating itself’ regarding treatment of his wife Meghan Markle

The Duke of Sussex has sat down for a second time with Oprah Winfrey - this time for a candid discussion about his mental health struggles and the importance of seeking help.

In a wide-ranging interview, which also touched on the loss of his mother and the treatment of his wife Meghan, the prince spoke about the importance of breaking down mental health stigmas in a new Apple TV+ docuseries The Me You Can’t See.

Coming just two months after he and Meghan shared explosive claims about their time as senior members of the royal family - which included allegations of racism to thoughts of suicide - Harry’s latest conversation with Winfrey touched on his version of these events and his lifelong battle with mental health.

Follow live: Prince William claims BBC fueled Diana’s ‘fears’ as Harry says exploitation took her life

The series began with the 36-year-old - who has relocated to California with Meghan and their son Archie - opening up about the lasting impact of the death of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, and the feelings of helplessness he associates with early memories of her being hounded by paparazzi, as well as his difficulty processing the worldwide grief over her death.

During the interview, the royal, who is expecting his second child, a daughter, with Meghan, also revealed that it was at his wife’s encouragement that he finally sought mental health counselling four years ago, after they had an argument early on in their relationship.

One of the most poignant, and emotional, moments of the conversation came when Harry opened up about his wife’s mental health struggles during their time in the UK, a topic that Meghan previously spoke with Winfrey about during their March CBS interview.

At the time, Meghan had revealed she experienced suicidal thoughts towards the end of the couple’s time in the UK, referencing a 2019 photo taken of her and Harry on their way to a concert at Royal Albert Hall as the day she’d told her husband about her feelings.

Reflecting on the difficult day, when Meghan had been six months pregnant with the couple’s son Archie, Harry said that his wife had shared with him “the suicidal thoughts and the practicalities of how she was going to end her life”.

“The scariest thing for her was her clarity of thought. She hadn’t lost it, she wasn’t crazy, she wasn’t self-medicating, be it through pills or through alcohol, she was absolutely sober,” he said. “She was completely sane, yet in the quiet of night, these thoughts woke her up.”

The duke also spoke of his biggest regret regarding the couple’s departure from the UK, revealing that he wished he had spoken out sooner against the racism that Meghan was being subjected to.

“Do I have any regrets? Yeah, my biggest regret is not making more of a stance earlier on in my relationship with my wife and calling out the racism when I did,” he said.

Harry then compared his relationship with Meghan to that of his mother’s with Dodi Al Fayed, who she was dating when she died, revealing that he felt “history was repeating itself” before alleging that Princess Diana was “chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone that wasn’t white”.

“History was repeating itself. My mother was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone that wasn’t white. And now look at what’s happened. You wanna talk about history repeating itself, they’re not gonna stop until she dies,” he said.

The serious topics of Harry’s latest conversation with Winfrey were also injected with some levity, with the docuseries at times showing clips of the family during happier moments, including one of the couple with Archie at the beach playing with a dog.

As for the future, the duke said he and Meghan will continue to prioritise their mental wellbeing, telling Winfrey: “We chose to put our mental health first. That’s what we’re doing and that’s what we will continue to do.”

The multiple episode docuseries was released on Apple TV+ on 21 May.