Prince Harry's upcoming mental health docuseries with Oprah Winfrey has incited backlash online, with people slamming his decision to air footage of his mother's funeral.
Good Morning Britain host, Susanna Reid, cast doubt on the prince's aims behind the series, titled The Me You Can't See, yesterday, questioning whether he had "opened up too much", and stating that he was opening up other members of the Royal Family to criticism.
Other critics, including Nick Ferrari, suggested that the airing of the series — which will feature stories from high-profile guests including Glenn Close and Lady Gaga — should have been delayed following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.
However, what all of these criticisms disregard is the Duke of Sussex's longstanding commitment to speak out about mental health issues. Well before his and Meghan Markle's explosive interview with Winfrey, Harry has made a point to speak candidly about his own struggles, as well as the epidemic we're seeing when it comes to mental health amongst men.
From first opening up in 2017 about his grief surrounding his mother's death to his thoughts on therapy, we break down the times that the Prince has helped fuel conversations on this important topic, ahead of his new Apple TV+ docuseries...
1. Prince Harry founded a mental health charity
Alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton, Harry founded the mental health charity, Heads Together, in May of 2016.
Since then, the non-profit has partnered with the 2017 London Marathon, where 750 runners participated in a Mental Health Marathon.
More recently, in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge alongside the Duke and Duchess of Sussex launched Shout — an affiliate of Crisis Text Line, which offers free, confidential mental health support through text in the UK. As of November of the same year, the programme facilitated over half a million conversations about mental health.
2. He's been passionate about speaking about mental health for a long time
In 2017, Prince Harry spoke about his personal mental health struggles for the first time — in regards to his mother's tragic death.
Diana, the Princess of Wales, died in 1997, following a car crash. In an interview with the Telegraph's Bryony Gordon, Harry revealed that he had sought counselling after "20 years of not thinking about the death of my mother" and "two years of total chaos in my life".
"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," he told the publication, before disclosing that it was his brother, Prince William, who encouraged him to seek out professional help.
"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'."
"I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle," he continued to Gordon — who is the host of the Mad World podcast, on which the prince appeared.
Harry added that boxing had "saved" him, as he was "on the verge of punching someone, so being able to punch someone who had pads was certainly easier".
In an essay Gordon wrote about landing the interview, the journalist expressed how surprised she was about the candid nature of their conversation. "Was this really happening? I mean really really?" Gordon stated. "Were we finally living in an era where even a representative of one of the most buttoned-up, traditional institutions on the planet might feel able to talk about the troubles in their head?"
3. He's been praised by mental health experts
Following his conversation with Gordon, Harry's willingness to speak about his mental health struggles was praised by various experts.
Per the Guardian, Sir Simon Wessely — President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists — said that he had achieved more in terms of communicating mental health issues in a 25-minute interview than he had in his 25-year career.
"He has a reach across the world that people like me can only dream of – he will have communicated in a way that I have been working all my life to achieve," he said.
Marjorie Wallace, founder of the mental health charity, Sane, corroborated: "It’s done more good than many, many campaigns. It’s given a message of hope that feelings left for too long can become malignant – but that it is never too late to seek help."
4. He's previously been honest about difficult topics
While much of the criticism around his upcoming docuseries with Winfrey revolves around him using footage of his mother's funeral, Harry has been open about the fact that speaking about her death has been difficult. However, he has continued to do so in order to raise awareness about the grieving process.
Harry, alongside William, first talked about their mother in 2007, during an interview with Fearne Cotton ahead of The Concert for Diana. "There's not a day that goes past that we don't think about her and miss her influence," the princes told the presenter. "She was a massive example to both of us. It's one of those things that's very sad, but you learn to deal with it, and there's plenty of other people who have the same or worse problems that we've had."
Since then, Harry has been increasingly open about the grief he still has to contend with. In an emotional ITV documentary in 2019, he described the loss of his mother as a "wound that festers".
He continued: "I think being part of this family, in this role, in this job, every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash, it takes me straight back, so in that respect, it's the worst reminder of her life, as opposed to the best."
5. Harry wrote a foreword of a book to support bereaved children
Earlier this year, the prince opened up about the loss of his mother in a sweet forward for a book that was released to support bereaved children and young people whose loved ones have passed away from Covid-19. The book, called Hospital by the Hill, was published to mark the National Day of Reflection in the UK, on March 23rd.
Stating that Diana's death "left a huge hole inside of me", he wrote: "I know how you feel, and I want to assure you that over time that hole will be filled with so much love and support.”
He continued that when a parent dies "their spirit, their love and the memories of them do not" and "they are always with you and you can hold onto them forever".
6. He is also the first chief impact officer of BetterUp
In March of this year, Prince Harry proved his commitment to driving change in the wellness sector by landing a job working for coaching and mental health firm, Better Up.
Speaking about his decision to join BetterUp, the prince asserted:
"I firmly believe that focusing on and prioritising our mental fitness unlocks potential and opportunity that we never knew we had inside of us. As the Royal Marine Commandos say, ‘It’s a state of mind.’ We all have it in us. What I’ve learned in my own life is the power of transforming pain into purpose.
"During my decade in the military, I learned that we don’t just need to build physical resilience, but also mental resilience. And in the years since, my understanding of what resilience means — and how we can build it — has been shaped by the thousands of people and experts I’ve been fortunate to meet and learn from."
