Prince Harry’s requests for family help met with ‘total silence or total neglect’

‘I know I’m not going to get from my family what I need’, admits Prince Harry

Joanna Whitehead
Friday 21 May 2021 08:48 EDT
Comments
Prince Harry says the clicking of cameras makes his ‘blood boil’

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Prince Harry has claimed that efforts to seek help from his family about the extent and impact of media intrusion on he and Meghan failed, stating, “every request was met with total silence or total neglect”.

His shocking comments form part of a new Apple TV+ docu-series with Oprah Winfrey called The Me You Can’t See, which focuses on mental health.

Speaking candidly about issues involving his mother, Princess Diana’s death, and his own coping mechanisms involving drugs and alcohol, the Duke also spoke about Meghan’s suicidal thoughts following intensive media scrutiny and vilification.

He said: “Within the first eight days of our relationship being made public was when they said, ‘Harry’s girl almost straight outta Compton’. And that her ‘exotic DNA’ will be thickening the royal blood, we would get followed, photographed, chased, harassed.

“The clicking of cameras and flashes of cameras makes my blood boil, it makes me angry, it takes me back to what happened to my mum and what I experienced when I was a kid.

“But it went to a whole new depth, with not just traditional media, it was also social media platforms as well.”

Prince Harry said that the experience left him feeling “completely helpless”.

He added: “I thought my family would help, but every single ask, request, warning, whatever it is, just got met with total silence or total neglect.”

In January 2020, the Duke said it had become so bad that Meghan outlined her plans for suicide.

He said: “I was ashamed to go to my family because to be honest with you, like a lot of other people my age can probably relate to, I know I’m not going to get from my family what I need.”

His comments serve as another damning blow to the Royal Family, which Harry spoke openly about in his explosive interview with Meghan Markle and Oprah Winfrey in March this year.

Describing royal life as a “toxic environment”, Meghan and Harry said that concerns were raised from within the royal family about the colour of Archie’s skin [Harry confirmed that neither the Queen or Prince Phillip said this, however].

Harry also revealed that his father Prince Charles “stopped taking [his] calls” after he and Meghan stepped back from senior royal duties.

And he described his relationship with his brother Prince William as “space”, stating that they were on different paths.

The Independent has approached Buckingham Palace for comment.

You can find helpful tips on how to start a conversation, or if you are worried about someone else, on the Samaritans website.

You can contact the Samaritans helpline by calling 116 123. The helpline is free and open 24 hours a day every day of the year.

You can also contact Samaritans by emailing jo@samaritans.org. The average response time is 24 hours.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in