BEVERLY HILLS, May 21, (THEWILL) – The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, says he abused alcohol and took drugs to numb the pain of the death of his mum, Princess Diana.
The 36-year-old disclosed this in his new Apple TV+ show.
THEWILL recalls that Diana died in August 1997, in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris while the driver was fleeing the paparazzi.
The AppleTV+ docuseries titled, “The Me You Can’t See,” is co-created by Harry and Oprah Winfrey.
“I was willing to drink, I was willing to take drugs, I was willing to try and do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling,” he said.
“But I slowly became aware that, OK, I wasn’t drinking Monday to Friday, but I would probably drink a week’s worth in one day on a Friday or a Saturday night.
“And I would find myself drinking, not because I was enjoying it but because I was trying to mask something.”
Harry, while talking about his mental health, disclosed that he has been in therapy for four years to heal himself from his past.
He also alleged that his family didn’t speak on Diana’s death, leaving him to face the mental distress of Press attention.
“My father used to say to me when I was younger, he used to say to both William and I: ‘Well it was like that for me so it’s going to be like that for you.’ That doesn’t make sense,” he added.
“Because you suffered doesn’t mean that your kids have to suffer, in fact, quite the opposite. If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure whatever negative experiences you had, that you can make it right for your kids.
“The clicking of cameras and the flashing of cameras makes my blood boil. It makes me angry and takes me back to what happened to my mum and my experience as a kid.”
He described the time when he was 28 to 32 as a “nightmare” marked for its panic attacks and severe anxiety saying that he was often “freaking out” every time he got in a car or saw a camera.
Harry disclosed that he began therapy four years ago and was encouraged to seek help by Meghan Markle, his wife, after they had an argument.
“I knew that if I didn’t do the therapy and fix myself, that I was going to lose this woman who I could see spending the rest of my life with. There was a lot of learning right at the beginning of our relationship,” he noted.
On moving to the US, he said, “I’m now more comfortable in my own skin. I don’t get panic attacks. I’ve learned more about myself in the past four years than in the 32 years before it.”
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