Prince Harry Was Scared That ‘History Was Repeating Itself’ As Meghan’s Fate Was Once Headed Like Diana’s

Jul 22, 2022 by apost team

In cooperation with Oprah Winfrey, former working royals Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle released a multi-part documentary project for mental health awareness, which was released on May 21, 2021. The documentary special, "The Me You Can't See," was executive produced by Winfrey and Harry and features the two discussing emotional well-being and mental health with a number of celebrity guests, including Lady Gaga, Glenn Close, and NBA players DeMar DeRozan and Langston Galloway. The series featured five episodes, which were each an hour long.

The show also featured Winfrey and Harry opening up about their own experiences with mental illness. Focusing on making sure viewers know they are not alone in the struggle that sometimes happens with mental health, the show's goal is to challenge stigmas and provide insight into how viewers can start the path to treatment.

The series debuted not long after Meghan and Harry's tell-all interview with Winfrey, but the topic of mental health is one near and dear to Harry's heart. Harry's mother, the late Princess Diana, was known for her outspokenness regarding mental health and was beloved by the public for her candid and honest conversations about mental well-being.

In one clip from the show, Harry spoke about the racism that his mother faced while dating the Egyptian film producer Dodi Fayed, the same man Diana died alongside after a 1997 car accident in Paris. In this excerpt, the prince made a comparison between the racism Fayed and his mother experienced and the discrimination he and his wife Meghan, who is half Black, have faced.

Although Harry and his wife Meghan began distancing themselves from the royal family back in January 2020 when they announced that they would be stepping back as senior royals, it wasn’t until the two spoke with Winfrey during an exclusive interview in March 2021 that they began to criticize the way in which the media and the royal family have talked about and portrayed Archie and Meghan. In "The Me You Can't See," Harry makes similar criticisms, speaking specifically to the mental toll of the discriminatory comments.

“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,” Harry said of the media’s treatment of Markle in the documentary series, according to The Independent. “We would get followed, photographed, chased, harassed.”

Harry then made a comparison between the hate Markle has faced and the racism that his mother and her Egyptian boyfriend Dodi Fayed experienced in the late 1990s, as he said that "history was repeating itself."

“My mother was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone that wasn’t white,” Harry added. “And now look what’s happened. You wanna talk about history repeating itself, they’re not gonna stop until she dies.”

After both sides had admitted to infidelity, Princess Diana and her then-husband, Prince Charles, filed for divorce in 1996 after receiving pressure from Queen Elizabeth II to separate, according to the BBC. Around a year later, the paparazzi spotted the princess on vacation with her boyfriend, Fayed.

And, as Harry alluded to in his interview, the media wouldn’t let up. In fact, Diana and Fayed died in a car crash while trying to escape the paparazzi, who were following the couple in Paris. 

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Given that Harry says this history of harassment has repeated itself, the former working royal explained that he regretted not speaking out earlier about the racism his wife faced. According to The Independent, the prince said his biggest regret was "not making more of a stance earlier on in my relationship with my wife and calling out the racism when I did."

Harry’s statements regarding race come after the controversial March 7, 2021 interview with Winfrey, in which the prince and Meghan addressed the growing rift between themselves and the royal family. In the interview, the couple specifically criticized the royal family and the press, particularly for the way they talk about their son, Archie. There were “concerns and conversations,” Meghan told Winfrey, ”about how dark (Archie’s) skin might be when he’s born.”

Meghan added that because of the culture and concerns like the one above, her mental health suffered after joining the royal family, describing her psychological state as "frightening."

Following the tell-all special, which saw Meghan and Harry criticize members of the royal family directly for the first time, Elizabeth released an official statement responding to claims of racism.

“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” Elizabeth wrote in the statement, which was issued on March 9, 2021.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately,” she added.

“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

In another episode of the telling documentary series, Harry spoke out about the moment his wife admitted she was having concerning thoughts about ending her life. Harry and Meghan spent “four years trying to make it work,” but they needed to depart from the royal family as “Meghan was struggling,” as reported by E! News. 

“I think people have seen the photograph of us, you know, squeezing each other’s hands as we walked into the Royal Albert Hall in London for a charity event,” the Duke of Sussex said. “She was six months pregnant at the time.”

He continued:

“What perhaps people don’t understand is, earlier that evening, Meghan decided to share with me the suicidal thoughts and practicalities of how she was going to end her life. The scariest thing for her was her clarity of thought. She hadn’t ‘lost it.’ She wasn’t crazy. She wasn’t self-medicating, be it through pills or through alcohol. She was absolutely sober. She was completely sane. Yet in the quiet of night, these thoughts woke her up.”

Harry added, “The thing that stopped her from seeing it through was how unfair it would be on me after everything that had happened to my mum and to now be put in a position of losing another woman in my life, with a baby inside of her — our baby.”

Diana’s presence seemed to be with the Sussex family as her legacy surrounding breaking mental health stigmas has lived on. According to TIME, Diana promised to share “her true story” with the world regarding her own mental health struggles, and it’s evident that her son and his wife are carrying on that transparency.

What do you think about Harry’s statement that “history was repeating itself” with Meghan? What do you think about his telling documentary series? Let us know — and be sure to pass this on to friends and family members. 

If you or anybody you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, please call Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit befrienders.org to find your local suicide prevention hotline. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.