Prince Harry has made a heartbreaking confession about feeling grief following the death of his mother, Princess Diana. The Duke of Sussex appeared alongside Dr Mary-Frances O’Connor on the MasterClass video-streaming learning platform, in a session called Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss.
Emotional numbness and guilt
Harry spoke about his feelings following the death of his mother, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997, when the duke was just 12 years old. The duke said: “I’d spent so long emotionally numb, to a large extent, because nobody told me that joy was still allowed. That it wasn’t betrayal.
“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.”
A mental shift
But he added that when he managed to truly process his emotions, he found that the opposite was true, as per People. Harry said: “The reality is, what I discovered was actually that she just wanted me to be happy. And that was a huge mental shift for me. It freed me, and it gave me a whole different outlook on life.”
Payment for the session
It comes as a source close to Prince Harry confirmed that he was paid for the talk amid reports he was handed up to £75,500 (£100,000 dollars) for the session. The Daily Mail reported that the duke may have received $100,000 plus a share of subscription revenues from the online platform.
The cost of an annual MasterClass membership ranges from £120 to £228. A source close to Harry confirmed he had been paid, but said the exact details were not discussed.
“I’d encourage everyone to watch it before casting any judgment,” they added, and said the duke should not be criticised for “speaking from the heart”.
