Prince Harry says he worried history would repeat itself
Britain’s Prince Harry, who has blamed press intrusion for contributing to his mother Princess Diana’s death in 1997, has told US chat show host Oprah Winfrey he was worried about history repeating itself.
Harry and his wife Meghan Markle rocked Britain’s monarchy with their shock announcement in January 2020 that they were stepping back from royal duties.
CBS on Sunday released brief clips of an “intimate” interview with Winfrey about their lives which will air March 7.
“My biggest concern was history repeating itself,” Harry, 36, said, apparently referring to the death of his mother who was killed in a highspeed car crash in Paris in 1997 as she tried to escape paparazzi.
Harry has long had a difficult relationship with Britain’s tabloids and blames press intrusion for contributing to Diana’s death.
“I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side,” Harry, holding Markle’s hand, told Winfrey.
“Because I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like for her (Diana), going through this process
I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side.
Because I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like for her (Diana), going through this process by herself all those years ago.
It’s been unbelievably tough for the two of us, but at least we have each other.
by herself all those years ago.
“It’s been unbelievably tough for the two of us, but at least we have each other.”
As Meghan Markle, the actor starred in the TV legal drama Suits. She married Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson at Windsor Castle in May 2018, and their son, Archie, was born a year later.
The couple, who announced on Valentine’s Day that they were expecting a second child, have launched several legal cases against British news outlets alleging invasion of privacy — including one that ended last month with a victory against Associated Newspapers.
In a rare interview, Harry last week revealed that he left royal life because the British press was “destroying” his mental health.
“We all know what the British press can be like, and it was destroying my mental health,” he told “The Late Late Show” host James Corden.
“I was, like, this is toxic. So I did what any husband and what any father would do. I need to get my family out of here,” said Harry, who relocated to the United States with Markle last year.
Harry also said he was more comfortable with the portrayal of the royal family in the hit Netflix series “The Crown” than he was with newspaper stories written about him and his family.
Harry and Meghan stepped away from full-time royal life in March 2020, unhappy at media scrutiny and the strictures of their roles. They cited what they described as the intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media toward the duchess, who is African American.
It was agreed the situation would be reviewed after a year. On Friday, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the couple will not be returning to royal duties and Harry will give up his honorary military titles — a decision that makes formal, and final, the couple’s split from the royal family.
The pair, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, verified “they will not be returning as working members of the Royal Family. “
A spokesperson for the couple hit back at suggestions that Meghan and Harry were not devoted to duty.
“As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role,” the spokesperson said in a statement. —