{"id":2375863,"date":"2026-04-16T12:15:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T12:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2375863"},"modified":"2026-04-16T12:15:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T12:15:13","slug":"prince-harry-didnt-want-royal-role-after-mom-dianas-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/prince-harry-didnt-want-royal-role-after-mom-dianas-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince Harry Didn’t Want Royal Role After Mom Diana’s Death"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Prince Harry<\/strong><\/a> has always had a complicated relationship with life as a royal \u2014 and that was especially true after the death of his mother, Princess Diana<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Duke of Sussex, 41, discussed his feelings about life in the royal family while speaking at a charity event<\/a> in Melbourne, Australia, on Tuesday, April 16. Harry began the event with a 19-minute keynote address on mental health and grief where he said there were \u201cmany times\u201d he\u2019d felt \u201coverwhelmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTimes when I\u2019ve felt lost, betrayed or completely powerless. Times when the pressure \u2014 externally and internally \u2014 felt constant,\u201d he said, per PA Media. \u201cAnd times when, despite everything going on, I still had to show up pretending everything was OK, so as not to let anyone down.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his address, Harry spoke with businessman and former politician Brendan Nelson<\/strong> and explained that he wasn\u2019t exactly thrilled about royal life after his mother died at age 36 \u201cjust before my 13th birthday\u201d in August 1997.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018I don\u2019t want this job. I don\u2019t want this role \u2014 wherever this is headed, I don\u2019t like it,\u2019\u201d he recalled. \u201cIt killed my mum and I was very much against it, and I stuck my head in the sand for years and years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harry went on to explain that he came around to his position by thinking about what his mother would have wanted him to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually I realized, \u2018Well, hang on, if there was somebody else in this position, how would they be making the most of this platform and this ability and the resources that come with it to make a difference in the world?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that really changed my own perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diana died from injuries sustained in a car crash in Paris while she and her then-boyfriend, Dodi Fayed<\/strong>, were fleeing the paparazzi. Harry later became an outspoken critic of the relentless media scrutiny faced by members of the royal family, especially since he and his wife, Meghan Markle<\/strong>, stepped down as senior working royals<\/a> in 2020.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Prince Harry Says Afghan War Triggered ‘Trauma’ From Mother Diana’s Death<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tPrince Harry revealed some of the biggest trauma he experienced from his time serving in the British military actually stemmed from his past. \u201cMy tour of Afghanistan in 2012 flying Apaches, somewhere after that there was an unraveling and the trigger to me was actually returning from Afghanistan, but the stuff that was coming up [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Speaking on Thursday, Harry said that becoming a husband and father helped ground him. (He and Meghan, 44, share son Prince Archie, 6, and daughter Princess Lilibet, 4.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a parent is overwhelmed, children feel it. When someone is supported, families feel it,\u201d he said, per PA Media. \u201cFor me, one of the biggest shifts came when I realized that asking for help isn\u2019t a weakness. It\u2019s very much a form of strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harry has previously opened up about how he struggled to accept his mother\u2019s passing, believing for years that she might have faked her death<\/a> and would eventually reunite with him and his brother, Prince William<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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