Prince Harry has revealed that he suffered from depression and had an 'adrenaline crash' after moving to Canada with his wife Meghan Markle. The Duke of Sussex said the two-week period of poor mental health came after he and Meghan arrived in the country ahead of the Megxit crisis. Harry noted that they escaped a 'stressful environment' back in the UK.
MasterClass interview on grief
Harry's comments arrived during a conversation with neuroscientist Dr Mary-Frances O'Connor in a session called Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss. The chat was conducted for the MasterClass video learning streaming platform.
The interview also saw Harry address his grief for his mother Diana. Following the Princess of Wales's tragic death in 1997, Harry noted that for many years he felt like he had to be sad to prove he missed her.
Adrenaline crash and depression
In the interview that was released on Thursday (October 8), Harry said he left the UK and moved to Canada with Meghan and baby Archie in 2019 to 'get some space away from everything'.
He recalled: "Being in Canada, away from the stressful environment where presumably my body was just pumped full of adrenaline, within two or three days, I experienced this adrenaline crash, something that I'd never experienced before.
"It was as if I needed stress in order to get the adrenaline to make my brain function because I became useless around the house. I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks and I felt like I couldn't function without adrenaline."
Eventually moving to the US, Harry and Meghan quit the working monarchy early in 2020. They were already staying on Vancouver Island when their exit made headlines around the world.
Return to the UK and grief for Diana
However, the couple stunned the public last month when they returned to live in the UK. The return comes after they spent six years living in the United States.
According to People Magazine, MasterClass approached Harry last year about developing a segment on grief. He is said to have filmed the programme in California in the summer, though not at his house in Montecito.
Speaking about losing his mum when he was 12, Harry said: "You would think I had the best help in the world. I'm a prince for God's sake, but I was still grieving and didn't have any place to put those feelings."
Describing himself as a 'student of grief', Harry admitted that he thought he could 'outrun' his feelings by going to war twice in the British Army. He served in the British Army for ten years, rising to the rank of Captain and completing two tours of duty in Afghanistan.
"I'd spent so long emotionally numb, to a large extent, because I felt disloyal and guilty for the possibility of being happy and joyful without her. I felt like I had to be sad and I had to be emotionally numb in order to prove to her that I missed her," he said.
After forgetting the sound of his mother's laugh, a therapist told Harry that he should try spraying her perfume. Thankfully, this helped him to 'unlock everything that had been locked previously'.
"The reality is, what I discovered was actually she just wanted me to be happy," he said.
Additionally, Harry revealed how he follows a 10 day-rule of never being away from his wife the Duchess of Sussex and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet for longer than 10 days. For those looking to watch Harry's interview, the cost of an annual MasterClass membership ranges from £120 to £228 a year. Other stars to have done one include Helen Mirren, Margaret Atwood and Gordon Ramsay.
