Prince Harry says Princess Diana’s death made him not want to be king – nationally
While delivering a keynote speech at a mental health conference in Australia, Prince Harry said there were points in his life when he did not want to be king or fulfill the duties associated with his title, especially after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, at the age of 12.
“I was like, ‘I don’t want this job. I don’t want this role – wherever this is referred to, I don’t like it,'” he told the audience at the InterEdge Summit – a leadership conference on mental health at work – in Melbourne on Thursday, where his wife, Meghan Markle, was present.
During his 20-minute speech, Harry spoke about his experience with mental health and how grief has affected his life.
“When I was invited to speak at this conference, I wasn’t sure if I was expected to speak as someone who, despite everything, has his s–t together.
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“But I was struck by something very simple – that although my experiences are unusual, the emotions associated with them are not the same,” Harry continued, before talking about his mother’s death and how losing her made him feel alienated from his royal identity.
“In my experience, loss is devastating at any age,” he said. “Sorrow never ends because we ignore it.” Dealing with that as a child while in a goldfish tank under constant supervision, yes, that will have its challenges. And without purpose, it can break you,” he continued.
“There were many times when I felt stressed. Times when I felt lost, betrayed, or completely powerless. Times when the pressure – outside and inside – was constant. And times when, despite everything that was happening, I still had to pretend that everything was fine, so as not to disappoint anyone.”
“For years I was numb to it, and maybe that was easy at the time, but I also didn’t have the tools to deal with it,” he added, suggesting that the lifestyle “killed his mother,” which made him resistant to the idea of living up to it.
Eventually, he realized he could use his platform to advocate for people who were struggling, Harry said.
“And again, what would my mother want me to do?” And that really changed my perspective,” he added.
File: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, leave a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022.
AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Poole, File
He credited two tours of duty in Afghanistan with helping him build the resilience and strength to deal with his mental struggles, as well as being a husband and father to Archie, six, and Lilibet, four.
“When a parent is frustrated, the children feel it.
“For me, one of the biggest shifts was when I realized that asking for help is not weakness.
His speech came less than a week after the charity, Harry, which was jointly established to help young people with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana, which was created to honor Princess Diana, accused him of lying.
The prince, who left the charity in 2025 following a public spat with board chairwoman Sophie Chandauka, founded the charity with her friend, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, in 2006.
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