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Prince Harry's emotional journey after Princess Diana's passing: Insights from 'Heart of Invictus' docuseries.
Prince Harry, at 38, continues to candidly share his personal journey. In his latest docuseries, "Heart of Invictus," he opens up about the lack of support from his family while dealing with the emotional aftermath of Princess Diana's passing and his time in Afghanistan.
In the second episode of "Heart of Invictus," which premiered on Netflix in August, Prince Harry reveals, "Returning from Afghanistan was a turning point for me. But the emotions I was struggling with traced back to 1997, when I was just 12 years old." He continues, "Losing my mother at such a young age, I never truly understood the pain. It was a topic we never discussed. I kept those feelings hidden, a common response among young people. Eventually, everything came rushing out, and I felt overwhelmed."
One of Prince Harry's main challenges was the lack of support he experienced. He refers to his family, especially the royal family, saying, "There wasn't anyone around me who could truly understand, even within my own family. I lacked a support system, a network, and expert guidance to help me navigate my feelings. Unfortunately, many of us only turn to therapy when we're at our lowest point, lying on the floor, wishing we had addressed these issues earlier. That's what I want to change."
Prince Harry also shares that he didn't fully confront the impact of his mother's loss until he was almost 30. "It wasn't until later in my life, around 28, that a certain event triggered the resurfacing of buried emotions. It was like a bottle being shaken, and suddenly everything erupted into chaos," he explains in the series.
Prince Harry, estranged from King Charles III's family, has been vocal about the lack of support he received after Princess Diana's death in 1997, especially from his father. In his memoir "Spare," he mentions that his father didn't even hug him after delivering the tragic news. Reflecting on his father's emotional struggles, he writes, "My father wasn't great at showing emotions even in normal times, so expecting him to do so during a crisis was unrealistic. His attempt at reassurance, a hand on my knee and the words 'It's going to be alright,' while well-intentioned, didn't match the reality."
