Prince Harry: Mother's Death Led to Years of 'Total Chaos'

He opens up about seeking counseling
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 17, 2017 2:17 AM CDT
Prince Harry Opens Up About Seeking Counselling
The White Garden, a new memorial garden which marks 20 years since the death of Princess Diana, at Kensington Palace in London, Thursday, April 13, 2017.   (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Prince Harry has opened up about how he has struggled to keep it together in the 20 years since his mother's death. The 32-year-old prince tells the Telegraph that it took two years of "total chaos" in his late 20s before he realized that he needed to seek counseling. "I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12, and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years, has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life but my work as well," he says. For years, he says, his way of dealing with Princess Diana's death "was sticking my head in the sand, refusing to ever think about my mum, because why would that help?" He says he was probably close to a "complete breakdown" on several occasions.

Harry says his brother and other people close to him encouraged him to seek counseling. He says he hopes talking about his experiences will encourage others dealing with mental health issues to seek help. The prince, who served in Afghanistan, says a big turning point for him was his work with the military's personnel recovery unit, where he listened to injured service members talk about their problems. "I know there is huge merit in talking about your issues and the only thing about keeping it quiet is that it’s only ever going to make it worse," says the prince. Harry has joined his older brother, Prince William, in supporting the Heads Together mental health campaign, the BBC reports. (More Prince Harry stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X