Prince Harry interviews making things ‘worse in the long run’, claims Paul Burrell
‘Doing what he’s doing is only going to cause him so much more pain,’ Burrell claims
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.Former royal butler Paul Burrell believes Prince Harry’s recent interviews, including in his new Apple TV documentary, The Me You Can’t See, are going to “cause him so much more pain”.
In the series, produced alongside Oprah Winfrey, Harry discusses his struggles with mental health, recalling traumatic memories from his childhood following Princess Diana’s death, and his worries that he would lose his wife Meghan Markle after she told him she was having suicidal thoughts.
He also revealed he started therapy four years ago after Meghan told him she believes he needs it during an argument. In the third episode, viewers are given an insight into one of his private sessions, where he is seen receiving EDMR, a type of trauma-informed therapy.
Burrell, who served as the butler to Princess Diana for 10 years up until her death, said that although he has “no doubt” that it is a great idea for Harry to have therapy, “therapy is supposed to be confidential”.
“It doesn’t work on the world stage,” he told Closer magazine. “Meghan has encouraged him to get therapy and change his way of thinking – but I think he’ll be left broken when this all stops and he realises what he’s done,” he added.
Burrell claims Harry’s recent interviews are “destroying” him, and will “delay his healing process”.
“Doing what he’s doing is only going to cause him so much more pain. I don’t recognise him now – he’s almost become the centre of his own world. He’s hurting his family and saying things that I really think he’ll regret.
“He’s been blinded by Meghan, by her beauty and by this Hollywood world. He won’t heal if he keeps doing this – it’ll make things worse in the long run. I honestly have no idea when it will stop,” Burrell said.
The series comes after the couple’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, in which they alleged that a member of the family made comments about their future child’s skin colour ahead of Archie’s birth, and that “the institution” failed to help them deal with media abuse.
Offering his perspective, Harry said he believes “history was repeating himself”.
“My biggest regret is not making more of a stance earlier on in my relationship with my wife and calling out the racism when I did.
“History was repeating itself. My mother was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone that wasn’t white. And now look what’s happened. You wanna talk about history repeating itself, they’re not gonna stop until she dies,” he said.
The Independent has contacted The Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments