‘This is toxic’: Prince Harry opens up about stepping back from royal family
The Duke of Sussex has opened up about his decision to step back from the royal family, explaining that it was “destroying [his] mental health”.
Speaking to James Corden on The Late Late Show, the prince clarified that he hasn’t severed ties completely.
“It was never walking away,” he said. “It was stepping back rather than stepping down. It was a really difficult environment as I think a lot of people saw.”
The 36-year-old went on to specifically reference the British media’s treatment of him and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex.
“We all know what the British press can be like,” he said. “And it was destroying my mental health. I was like, ‘This is toxic.’ So I did what any husband and what any father would do and was like, ‘I need to get my family out of here.’”
Harry continued: “But we never walked away. And as far as I’m concerned, and whatever decisions are made on that side, I will never walk away.
“I will always be contributing. But my life is public service. So wherever I am in the world it’s going to be the same thing.”
Harry and Corden filmed the interview while riding an open-top bus through Los Angeles, where Harry and Meghan moved last year with their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
The duke told Corden that Archie’s first word was “crocodile” and that the Queen gave the one-year-old a waffle maker for Christmas. He said both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh can use Zoom and have seen Archie “running around” in California.
Harry also addressed the controversy over The Crown’s portrayal of his family’s history and defended the Netflix regal drama, saying it does not “pretend to be news”.
“Of course it’s not strictly accurate, but, loosely, it gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle, what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that.
“I am way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife or myself.”
The duke also spoke about his early relationship with Meghan, 39. He said dating for him or any member of the royal family is “flipped upside down”, telling Corden that early dates take place at home and only when they are a couple do they venture out in public.
“We got to spend an enormous amount of time just the two of us,” he said of his early relationship with Meghan. “There were no distractions, and that was great, it was an amazing thing. We went from zero to 60 in the first two months.”
Asked what a “regular night in” for the couple is like, Harry said they may make Archie’s tea, give him a bath and read him a book before he and Meghan spend time together.
He said they may watch the game show Jeopardy! or something on Netflix.
The couple revealed that they would officially not be returning to their roles as working members of the royal family earlier this month.
A spokesperson for the Sussexes said in a statement at the time that Harry and Meghan “remain committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world and have offered their continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role”.
They added: “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.”
Harry and Meghan will appear in a US primetime TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, which is set to be broadcast on 7 March. The couple are expected to discuss their life in America.