Prince Harry has spoken out about how he reconnected with his mother and dealt with his loss in an honest conversation about grief. The Duke appeared on the American educational platform MasterClass, in an episode entitled Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss.
He discussed grief and growing up with the trauma of losing his mum, as well as his battle with depression after leaving the UK in 2020. The Duke of Sussex also opened up about his family life and the happiness he has found in becoming a father.
The therapist's advice that unlocked memories
The clip sees Harry, 42, share how a therapist helped him unlock memories of Diana in one simple way - after he revealed that he did not cry for almost 20 years following her death. He said that his therapist told him to find Diana's perfume in order to unlock memories of her, as he admitted he could no longer remember her voice.
Harry said that the smell immediately brought back emotions and memories that he had suppressed for a long time. He said: "It was like being transported to another time. It unlocked everything that had been locked away. Spraying my mother's scent was almost like knocking certain bricks through so that I could see through and certain memories and experiences could start seeping back."
Reflecting on grief and legacy
He also revealed that he thinks about Diana "pretty much every night and then most mornings". In the emotional episode Harry added: "Everything I do, everything I put my energy towards, I hope that my mother will be proud of. Trying to continue and protect her legacy, what I didn't realise was that the work I was drawn to was so similar to the work she was doing."
Reflecting on the loss of his mother, Harry said: "I didn't cry when I was told my mum died, only at her burial, and then not again for nearly two decades. I was convinced that was strength, but it wasn't. It was a 12-year-old boy with no permission to fall apart and no roadmap for how to heal. I'd spent so long emotionally numb because I felt disloyal and guilty at the possibility of being happy without her. I felt I had to stay sad and emotionally shut down to prove I missed her."
The impact of therapy
He highlighted the value that therapy has had on his quality of life, claiming: "The reality is that what I discovered was that she just wanted me to be happy. That was a huge mental shift for me. It freed me and gave me a completely different outlook on life."
