Weekend update: Mental Health as a Royal

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From crowns and curtsies to tea parties –– it's not all glamour as a royal. 

In partnership with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry released a new series on AppleTV, The Me You Can’t See, revealing the tribulations being a royal has caused him. 

Harry opened up about suffering from panic attacks and severe anxiety as a senior royal. His mental health challenges began after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, resulting in unresolved trauma. In the environment of being a royal, struggles with mental health were swept under the rug and left unaddressed, he said according to InStyle. 

While performing routine royal duties, he said he was physically present, but mentally was in a panic. Making public appearances offset his body: profuse sweat led to alcohol and drug use to cope with his anxiety. 

Additionally, Meghan Markle revealed that she previously held thoughts to end her own life due to the media scrutiny she underwent. Although she sought help for her mental health, the royal institution denied her help. Glossing over and hushing mental health struggles was more important to uphold a proper image. 

Markle also said that royals, as much as any other person, experience these struggles, and it's often those who smile the brightest that are unhappy behind closed doors. 

Harry realized the similarities that appeared between Markle and his mother in terms of mental health and the inability to cope. As a child, Harry recalled being in a car with his mother as she cried out of frustration due to several paparazzi following them. The lack of protection from the royal institution in Diana and Markle’s cases was too eerily similar not to be acknowledged.

"My biggest regret is not making more of a stance earlier on in my relationship with my wife and calling out the racism when I did," Prince Harry said. "History was repeating itself. My mother was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone that wasn't white. And now look at what's happened. You want to talk about history repeating itself? They're not going to stop until she dies.”

The move to leave his royal duties was furthered by Harry’s father, Prince Charles, mentioning that these issues were part of being a royal for him, and Harry should expect the same. 

"My father 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.' That doesn't make sense” Harry stated. 

Prince Harry and Meaghan Markle chose to prioritize their own mental health and change the old-fashioned royal institution by addressing these challenges head-on.

Sandra Ocampo