Though his mother passed away almost 20 years ago, it wasn’t until very recently that Prince Harry started talking about her death.
Princess Diana’s fatal car accident in Paris happened in 1997—Harry was just 12, while his older brother William was 15. Now 31, Harry has finally begun opening up about his mother’s death.
“It is OK to suffer, but as long as you talk about it.”
Photo: BBC News on YouTube
The prince was speaking at a barbecue function at Kensington Palace for his mental health charity Heads Together. The event, which was attended by a number of prominent athletes, aimed to highlight that anyone—even high-profile sports personalities and members of royalty—can suffer from mental health issues.
To read about what Prince Harry had to say, click to the next page.
Prince Harry was seen speaking to former footballer Rio Ferdinand about how he’s been helping others to cope with grief. “You know, I really regret not ever talking about it,” the Prince told the former England and Manchester United footballer.
Prince Harry went on to talk about how a friend approached him to talk to his three kids whose mother had committed suicide:
“He said, I just want them to meet you because they’ve started asking questions like ‘What’s going to happen when we get older, we haven’t got a mum.’ And we didn’t even talk about it, we just sat down and had a laugh together. All they want to know is I’m normal, I’m not going to be, whatever it is, that fear of the unknown.”
“You know, I really regret not ever talking about it.”
Photo: katemidletons on Instagram
Ferdinand’s wife succumbed to cancer last year. A father of three, the footballer said of the Prince: “He’s gone through different stages in his life that my kids are going to be going towards, so to get some of his experiences is very rewarding for me and very educational in many ways.”
“It is OK to suffer, but as long as you talk about it,” the Prince said in an interview with BBC Breakfast. “It is not a weakness. Weakness is having a problem and not recognizing it and not solving that problem.”
(Lead photo: BBC News on YouTube)
READ: Prince Harry wants to be a dad soon to make his mom Diana proud
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