Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex has accused the Royal family of 'total neglect' and of 'bullying him into silence.' Photo / AP
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex has accused the Royal family of 'total neglect' and of 'bullying him into silence.' Photo / AP
The Duke of Sussex has accused the royal family of "total neglect" and of "bullying him into silence" as he revealed the Prince of Wales had told him that as he had suffered, his sons would suffer too.
Prince Harry, 36, underwent a highly personal therapy session on camera for his new Apple TV documentary series, discussing traumatic memories from his childhood.
He spoke extensively about his struggles with mental health and his disconnect with his family's attitudes to the subject.
Prince Charles kept a distance from Prince Harry during his trip back to the U.K. for Prince Philip's funeral. Photo / AP
The duke said that he and the Duchess of Sussex were subjected to such a level of harassment on social media that he felt "completely helpless" and assumed that his family would help. "Every single ask, request, warning, whatever it is, to stop just got met with total silence or total neglect," he said.
"We spent four years trying to make it work. We did everything that we possibly could to stay there and carry on doing the role and doing the job."
Princes William and Harry with their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales in the garden of Highgrove House in Gloucestershire. Photo / Getty Images
The Duke described over the first three episodes of the series, The Me You Can't See, released today, how he had come to realise that he needed to address the trauma he experienced following the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
He told co-presenter Oprah Winfrey that his family had not spoken about her death and just expected him to deal with the paparazzi and press intrusion.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex has accused the Royal family of 'total neglect' and of 'bullying him into silence.' Photo / AP
"My father used to say to me when I was younger, he used to say to both William and I, 'Well it was like that for me so it's going to be like that for you'," he said.
"That doesn't make sense. Just because you suffered doesn't mean that your kids have to suffer, in fact quite the opposite - if you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences you had, that you can make it right for your kids."
The duke said that he was told to "play the game" and his life would be easier. But he added: "I've got a hell of a lot of my mum in me. The only way to free yourself and break out is to tell the truth."
He also revealed that when the duchess, 39, felt suicidal, she had not gone through with it because it would have been "unfair" on him, having already lost his mother.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, with their son Archie, in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle. Photo / AP
He said he was ashamed it had got "that bad" but that he was also too ashamed to go to his family, because he knew they could not give him what he needed.
"That was one of the biggest reasons to leave, feeling trapped and feeling controlled through fear, both by the media and by the system itself which never encouraged the talking about this kind of trauma.
"Certainly now I will never be bullied into silence."
