Prince Harry Was Scared Of Attending Prince Philip’s Funeral, Speaks About Diana’s Death And ‘Unresolved Grief’

Sep 30, 2022 by apost team

In the royal family, marriages were held in high regard, and marital issues were not publicly discussed. A royal divorce was unheard of until King Charles III and Diana came out to the public with the news of their separation. It wasn't all that shocking since there were constant rumors over the years of Charles having an affair with his now-current wife, Camilla, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom while he was still married to Diana.

Diana was open about the troubles in her marriage to Charles and even confronted Camilla about their affair in 1989. Diana and Charles separated in 1992, just a decade into their marriage. The issue could no longer stay hidden from the public once Charles confessed to the infidelity claims in 1994. Even before that, close observers of the royal family had an inkling as to what was happening.

However, behind the scenes, Diana suffered greatly during the couple's split — and not only because their marriage suffered due to infidelity. Diana had frequently complained about the British media's behavior towards her, feeling that she was persecuted and followed everywhere. After their marriage problems became public, this feeling intensified. She even blamed the royal family for not doing enough to discourage reporters from hounding her. 

Tragically, Princess Diana passed away in a car crash on Aug. 31, 1997. She left behind her two sons Prince William and Prince Harry. Years later, now that her sons are grown with families of their own, Prince Harry has spoken about how his mother's death has impacted him with ongoing trauma and triggers, even as an adult. 

When Princess Diana died, her youngest son Prince Harry was only 12 years old at the time. In an exclusive interview with Newsweek in 2017, Harry shared his memories of attending his mother's funeral. "My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television," he shared. "I don't think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don't think it would happen today,” he added. 

Prince Harry went on to admit that losing his mom at such a young age and in such a public way caused him to go down a road of hanging out with the wrong crowd as well as partying too much. "My mother died when I was very young. I didn't want to be in the position I was in, but I eventually pulled my head out of the sand, started listening to people and decided to use my role for good,” he said. 

The prince is now married to Meghan Markle and has two beautiful children, Archie and Lillibet. While the prince has gone on to lead a successful and seemingly happy life, he has shared that he still lives with trauma and triggers from dealing with his mother's death at such a young age. In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press, Prince Harry admitted that after losing his grandfather, Prince Phillip, in April of 2021, he was nervous to attend another large and public family funeral. 

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“I was worried about it, I was afraid,” Prince Harry told the Associated Press. Using the coping skills that he learned in therapy, he admitted that he can now handle certain situations better than he once did. “Going through the motions and being able to lean on the toolbox, and lean on the learnings that I’ve grown from over the past, it definitely made it a lot easier, but the heart still pounds,” he said. 

“For most of my life I always felt worried, concerned, a little bit tense and uptight whenever I fly back into the UK, whenever I fly back into London,” he shared. 

The prince also revealed that he knows he isn’t alone in his past trauma and triggers. “As I’ve learned over the years, so many of us, probably 99.9% are carrying around some form of unresolved grief trauma or loss, and that manifests itself.” 

Prince Harry gives a lot of credit to his wife, Meghan, who encouraged him to go back to his past of losing his mother, so he could eventually move forward with his life. The prince has shared that mental health is very important to him and that is why he is passionate about the subject. 

"When you accept a challenge is real, you can have hope. When you understand your vulnerability, you can become strong. When you are brave enough to ask for help, you can be lifted up. You can start living, doing, feeling — not simply surviving. And when you share your story, you can change the world," he once told People. 

What do you think about Prince Harry’s journey to overcome his past trauma over losing his mom? We applaud him for bringing such an important subject to light! If you found this article inspiring — pass it on to family and friends who will also love it.