21 Powerful Prince Harry Quotes On Mental Health And Losing His Mom, Princess Diana
Some royal wisdom on mental health and how to cope
Bart Lenoir / Shutterstock Despite stepping down as a working member of the royal family, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has remained committed to championing mental health awareness.
The issue is near and dear to his heart, as his mother, the late Princess Diana, suffered from mental illness, and he and Prince William have faced their own struggles following her loss.
Prince Harry, along with his brother William and sister-in-law Kate, founded the organization Heads Together to encourage open conversations about mental health in an effort to reduce stigma.
As a military veteran, Harry also dedicated himself to veteran-centered causes like Walking with the Wounded, which provides mental health and employment support to those who have served.
And in March, he took on the role of chief impact officer at a mental health tech startup called BetterUp.
Now, Prince Harry is taking his mental health advocacy to streaming TV as the executive producer of the Apple TV+ docuseries "The Me You Can't See" with Oprah Winfrey.
The series of curated discussions on mental health will feature celebrities like Lady Gaga and Glenn Close, as well as basketball stars DeMar DeRozan and Langston Galloway.
"The Me You Can't See" premieres May 21, just in time for the end of Mental Health Awareness Month.
To celebrate this new initiative, here are the best quotes from Prince Harry on mental health and other important matters.
21 Best Prince Harry Quotes on Mental Health, the Loss of his Mom, Princess Diana, Family, Love and More
1. "The majority of us carry some form of unresolved trauma, loss, or grief, which feels — and is—very personal. Yet the last year has shown us that we are all in this together, and my hope is that this series will show there is power in vulnerability, connection in empathy and strength in honesty." — Prince Harry
Photo: Bart Lenoir / Shutterstock
2. “There’s nothing better than being able to share your experiences, and ask for advice from someone who has actually been through it, rather than a complete stranger or someone who doesn’t actually get what you’ve been through.” — Prince Harry
3. “The stigma surrounding it is a massive issue. I want to re-emphasize the point to people that [mental illness] is not a ticking time bomb.” — Prince Harry
4. "We all have mental health in the same way that we all have physical health. It’s OK to have depression, it’s OK to have anxiety, it’s OK to have an adjustment disorder.” — Prince Harry
5. “I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12, and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years, has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life but my work as well. I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions … The experience I have had is that once you start talking about it, you realize that actually you’re part of quite a big club.” — Prince Harry
6. “What we are trying to do is normalize the conversation to the point where anyone can sit down and have a coffee and just go, ‘You know what, I’ve had a really s—t day, can I just tell about it?’ Because then you walk away and it’s done.” — Prince Harry
7. “It’s so important to know that if you’re going to have a bad day, if you’ve had a bad week or you’ve experienced more trauma or another loss or more stress in your life that you’ve got at your fingertips, whether it’s a WhatsApp group whether it’s an online support group. … If you haven’t heard from someone for a while you know that the first thing you need to do is check in with them.” — Prince Harry
8. “You've got to give something back. You can't just sit there.” — Prince Harry
Photo: Getty Images
9. "My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand, refusing to ever think about my mum, because why would that help? [I thought] it’s only going to make you sad, it’s not going to bring her back. So from an emotional side, I was like, right, don’t ever let your emotions be part of anything. And then [I] started to have a few conversations and actually all of a sudden, all of this grief that I have never processed started to come to the forefront and I was like, there is actually a lot of stuff here that I need to deal with.” — Prince Harry
10. "Everything can be okay, but I really regret not ever talking about it for the first 28 years of my life. I never talked about it." — Prince Harry
11. "She was our guardian, friend and protector. She never once allowed her unfaltering love for us to go unspoken or undemonstrated. Behind the media glare, to us, two children, she was quite simply the best mother in the world." — Prince Harry
12. “It was a really difficult environment, as I think a lot of people saw. We all know what the British press can be like. And it was destroying my mental health. I was like, 'This is toxic.’ So I did what any husband and father would do... I need to get my family out of here.” — Prince Harry
13. "Conversations with my mother, father, my grandparents, as I've grown up have obviously driven me towards wanting to try and make a difference as much as possible." — Prince Harry
14. “Anyone who says they don't enjoy the Army is mad — you can spend a week hating it and the next week it could be the best thing in the world and the best job you could ever, ever wish for. It has got so much to offer.” — Prince Harry
15. “For me personally, as I said, I want to serve my country. I've done it once, and I'm still in the army, I feel as though I should get the opportunity to do it again.” — Prince Harry
16. “Real men treat women with the dignity and respect they deserve.” — Prince Harry
17. “To be honest dinner conversations was the worst bit about being a child and listening to the boring people around me.” — Prince Harry
18. “I've longed for kids since I was very, very young. And so I'm waiting to find the right person, someone who's willing to take on the job.” — Prince Harry
19. “It’s something my mother believed in: If you are in a position of privilege, if you can put your name to something that you genuinely believe in, you can smash any stigma you want, and you can encourage anybody to do anything.” — Prince Harry
20. “I think losing your mother at such a young age does end up shaping your life massively. Of course it does, and now I find myself trying to be there and give advice to other people who are in similar positions.” — Prince Harry
21. “You’ve got to have fun in life. Otherwise, wow — imagine life without fun.” — Prince Harry
Kristen Pizzo is a freelance writer who covers everything from relationships and personal development to celebrity news. More of her work can be found on Medium.