Prince Harry Says He Experienced Depression After Stepping Away From Royal Life in 2019

LONDON – Britain’s Prince Harry has said he went through a period of depression during a break from royal duties in late 2019, shortly before he and his wife Meghan formally stepped back as working members of the royal family.

The Duke of Sussex made the remarks in a MasterClass videocast titled “Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss,” in which he spoke about loss, mental health and the long-term effects of his mother’s death.

Recalling the time he, Meghan and their son Archie spent in Canada, the Prince said that being away from a high-pressure environment caused what he called an “adrenaline crash” within two or three days of arriving. He said the experience was unlike anything he had felt before. Having grown used to functioning under constant stress, he found himself struggling with even simple tasks at home, and he said he fell into depression for roughly two weeks. The couple had travelled to Canada to gain distance from the pressures of their public lives and to think about their future.

Weeks after the Canadian break, the couple returned to Britain, where it was announced that they would no longer serve as working royals. They later settled in California.

In the videocast, Prince Harry also reflected on the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 when he was 12. He said he had spent many years largely emotionally numb because he had not understood that he was still allowed to feel joy. He described how suppressing his grief for close to two decades affected him deeply, to the point of losing access to some of his own memories of his mother. He said he eventually came to believe that she simply wanted him to be happy, and that he still feels a connection to her, particularly in difficult times. He also stressed the importance of allowing oneself to cry.

The Prince has spoken publicly about mental health several times in recent years. In 2017 he revealed that he had sought counselling after coming close to a breakdown in his late twenties, a disclosure widely seen as a break from the royal family’s traditional reticence on such matters.

His latest comments come two months after the couple moved back to Britain with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, after six years in California.