Prince Harry said he wanted to quit royal life after his mother died (Image: Getty)
Prince Harry said he had felt “lost, betrayed, or completely powerless” at various points throughout his life in an emotionally charged speech during his four-day tour of Australia. Delivering a keynote address at a leadership summit in Melbourne, the Duke of Sussex shared his personal reflections on grief and the pressure to pretend everything was ok to avoid letting anyone down.
He also revealed that after his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, died when he was aged 12, he wanted to quit his royal role. Speaking to Australian business leader and former politician Brendan Nelson after his speech at the InterEdge Summit on Thursday, Harry said: “After my mum died just before my 13th birthday – I was like: ‘I don’t want this job. I don’t want this role – wherever this is headed, I don’t like it.’
“It killed my mum and I was very much against it, and I stuck my head in the sand for years and years.”
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The King’s youngest son told attendees at the conference, which charged £525 for in-person tickets and £1,250 for platinum access, “When I was invited to speak at this summit, I wasn’t sure whether I was expected to speak as someone who, despite everything, has their sh** together.
“Or as someone who, despite what it may look like, actually doesn’t have his sh** together. But I was struck by something quite simple – that while my experiences may be unusual, the feelings that come with them are not.”
As his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, watched from the audience, Harry spoke about the “disorienting” effects of grief and how difficult it was to process while the world’s media watched on.
“In my experience, loss is disorienting at any age,” he said. “Grief does not disappear because we ignore it. Experiencing that as a kid while in a goldfish bowl under constant surveillance, yes, that will have its challenges. And without purpose, it can break you.”
Meghan Markle sat in the audience while Harry delivered his speech (Image: Getty)
Harry continued: “There have been many times when I’ve felt overwhelmed. Times when I’ve felt lost, betrayed, or completely powerless. Times when the pressure – externally and internally – felt constant.
“And times when, despite everything going on, I still had to show up pretending everything was ok, so as not to let anyone down. For many years I was numb to it, and perhaps that was easier then, but I also didn’t yet have the tools to deal with it.”
The duke added: “For me, one of the biggest shifts came when I realised that asking for help isn’t a weakness. It’s very much a form of strength.”
Harry, who is not understood to have received a fee for his address, spoke at the event focused on “leadership, psychosocial safety and human connection in the workplace,” on the couple’s third day of their trip to Australia.
A profile of Harry on the summit’s website said that he has “dedicated his life to service and uplifting communities, while emphasising the importance of our collective mental health in his philanthropic and advocacy work globally”.
Other speakers at the summit include former Australian tennis professional Jelena Dokic and American social psychologist Amy Cuddy.