Palace insider:
As Prince Harry makes more veiled digs at his estranged family in another shock interview, royal expert Duncan Larcombe says they aren’t to blame – and his unhappiness is something he must work on himself
“Harry’s made the royals his enemy – he won’t be happy until he heals his trauma”
He’s been open about his mental health struggles, following the tragic death of his mother Princess Diana when he was just 12, and more recently about his despair over his wife Meghan Markle’s upsetting experiences within the royal family.
And last week, Prince
Harry shed more light on his emotional suffering on the Armchair Expert podcast with Hollywood actor Dax Shepard.
Harry, 36, revealed that life in the royal family had been like living in a “zoo” and a “cage” – and likened his former life to the Jim Carrey movie The Truman Show – where every second of a man’s life is scrutinised, filmed, controlled and broadcast to the watching world.
He also insisted that he’d made the shock decision to step away from the royals and move to LA to “break the cycle” of “genetic pain and suffering” passed on from his family – suggesting Prince Charles had “suffered” due to his upbringing by the Queen and his late grandfather Prince Philip, which provoked an angry backlash.
One social media user received thousands of likes after posting, “The saddest thing of all seems to be that all of this pain he’s inflicting on his family is primarily to have a platform on which to earn money, because what else has he got?”
It was the latest bombshell following Harry and 39-year-old Meghan’s tell-all TV interview in March with Oprah Winfrey, where they made claims of racism and lack of mental health support within “The Firm”.
In last week’s podcast – which was used to promote Harry’s Apple TV+ mental health series with Oprah Winfrey which airs this week – he added that he felt his new life with Meghan, who is pregnant with their second child, a daughter due in June, and son Archie, two, is a happier one. He said, “In the US, I feel different, I can lift my head, my shoulders have dropped, so have hers… I feel free.”
But Palace insider Duncan Larcombe – author of Prince Harry: The Inside Story – believes that Harry is no more content now than he was when he was in the UK.
ARGUMENTS
He says, “I believe that, despite Harry’s insistence that he’s happy, he’s far from it. I don’t think he or Meghan are happy. Content people don’t create arguments and criticise people – content people want to make amends. I don’t think Harry can preach about how to cope with mental health, when he is clearly in the very midst of his mental-health journey and causing pain to his own family.
“The cause of all his anger and sadness was never the royals – it was the trauma from his mum dying when he was a child. That’s where the issue lies – I don’t think he’ll be truly happy until he works through that. He has now made the royals and the institution his enemies because of that – he’s on the warpath.”
HE AND MEGHAN AREN’T HAPPY OR FREE. HIS MOVE TO LA HASN’T SOLVED ANYTHING
Harry reveals on the podcast that he struggled with his grief, saying his worst fear was that he’d be called “unhinged” or “not well”. He added that he turned to partying and alcohol in his 20s to cope with the pain, and that he dealt with intense anger which would make “his blood boil”.
But he revealed that Meghan had introduced him to therapy which had helped him deal with his issues, adding, “She saw it – she could tell I was hurting and really angry.”
But Duncan says that he believes Harry has now channelled his anger and sadness into making his family the enemy.
TRAUMATIC
He says, “Harry has had an extraordinary life and an incredibly traumatic one at that. Not only was he born into an extraordinary world, but he had the worst thing that can happen to any child happen to him – his mother died. That’s a huge amount to deal with – and it’s no wonder he’s felt anger and sadness.
“But I think he saw Meghan as his ‘rescuer’ – it’s a psychological phenomenon as to how people deal with trauma. It seems that Meghan has played that role effectively in Harry’s mind. He sees her as ‘rescuing him’.
“It’s great that she’s inspired him to be so honest about his struggles, about his emotions, about his anger. But I think what we see and hear from these interviews is a man who is desperately trying to convince himself that he has found happiness, and he has been through it all and reached the other side – that he’s finally free. I don’t think that’s the case. He and Meghan aren’t happy or free. I don’t think his move to LA has solved anything.”
Duncan adds, “There are so many inconsistencies in what Harry says. He wants privacy and a ‘normal’ life – yet his world is far from that. He hates the press, yet is doing podcasts and interviews. He stands for kindness and helping those suffering with mental health – yet he calls out his family.
“I really think Harry will look back on these interviews in five or ten years’ time and regret some of what he’s said.
“I hope it doesn’t end in disaster for Harry – but I think this has been the biggest gamble of his life and it seems like it’s heading that way. With this latest set of revelations from him, he’s burning bridges, left right and centre.
“If happiness can be found when you’re burning bridges and you’re isolated from your family, as Harry is, then good luck – but the odds are definitely stacked against Harry being happy in this new life.”
By Lily Smith