Prince Harry has had a busy week with the announcement that he and wife Meghan Markle would be leaving Frogmore Cottage and his participation in a conversation with author and physician Gabor Mate.
Harry and Gabor engaged in a “intimate conversation as they discuss living with loss and the importance of personal healing” at the event, for which tickets cost £17.99.
Harry’s speech’s key passages included:
Harry claims that his early years were “adventures.”
Harry thanks Meghan for helping him understand his upbringing, racism, and
Harry talks about his drug use.
Prince Harry might suffer from ADD.
Harry had always been “different” from the other family members.
Unlike King Charles, Harry wants to be a different kind of father.
Harry discusses his anxiety about forgetting Princess Diana. Harry didn’t want to come across as a victim.
Penguin Random House, which earlier in the year released Harry’s autobiography, Spare, hosted a portion of the event. The Duke’s time as a royal and his interactions with other family members were frequently mentioned in the book.
Harry speaks about “secret passageways” in royal residences
Harry claimed that as a child, he had the opportunity to tour all of the royal residences, which he described as a “adventure” but which wasn’t actually the case. In response to the question of whether he found any trapdoors, he jokingly remarked that there weren’t any like in the cartoons where you had to push a specific book onto a bookcase; if there had been, he likely would have become “trapped” inside.
Harry speaks about love for Meghan Markle
Harry talked about how his wife, Meghan, had “saved” him, and he thought back on snapping at her. He admitted that he needed her “pushback” and her inquiries about whether this was a reflection of his upbringing. He admitted that he didn’t want to apologize and that he thought the question was a “lightbulb moment”.
By observing how Meghan was treated while visiting the United Kingdom, he also described the “crash course” he received in understanding racism. He claimed that racism had a negative impact on society as a whole and not just on one individual. The Duke also mentioned his own mistakes, but added that he was “grateful” that he had been able to address his “unconscious bias” and grow as a result of them.
Prince Harry opened up on drug use
The Duke of Sussex’s admission that he had used cocaine and marijuana was one of the most shocking scenes in Spare. Speaking about his interactions with various drugs, Harry claimed that marijuana provided a better experience for him than cocaine, which had “no effect” on him. He said, “Marijuana is different; that really did help me.
Prince Harry might have ADHD
Gabor suggested during the discussion that Harry might have ADHD, and the Prince said he would look into it. Gabor was quick to clarify that he did not consider this to be a “illness,” but rather more of a reaction to Harry’s upbringing in a “abnormal environment”.
In addition, he disclosed that he had experienced “small bouts” of depression over the course of his life. He acknowledged that he was “grateful” for the experience because it had given him the chance to empathize with others who were experiencing comparable emotions.
Prince Harry always felt “different”
Harry acknowledged that he has always felt “different” from the rest of the royal family and that he thinks his late mother also experienced this. He described how he constantly received the message to go back to the group and fulfill his obligations when he tried to expand his horizons.
He also talked about “breaking free” and how wonderful it had felt. When he wasn’t actually happy, he had previously given the impression that he was.
Harry has a different parenting style from King Charles
Harry said in a moving moment that he didn’t want to give his kids, Archie and Lilibet, any “traumas or negative experiences,” and that he intended to “smother them with love” in order to be different from the way he was raised.
When Gabor brought up the lack of “touching” in the royal family and mentioned how the late Queen would always shake hands with the then-5-year-old Prince Charles upon her return from a royal tour, rather than hug him, Harry was questioned about his parenting style.
The Duke expressed his “gratitude” for being able to change his surroundings in order to be the father he desired to be to Lilibet, but he also expressed his respect for those who might not be able to change their circumstances.
He claimed that by leaving the royal family, Archie and Lilibet would be able to prosper in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. Harry reflected that he had a “happy childhood,” despite Gabor disagreeing with him.
Harry claimed that being “vulnerable” would enable him to be the “best father” to his children during a Q&A session.
Prince Harry worried about losing feeling of late Diana
The Duke admitted that he had been hesitant to try therapy because he was concerned about how it might affect his memories of his late mother, Princess Diana. He talked about how at first he thought he needed to feel bad in order to stay close to her, but then he realized that she would have preferred for him to move on.
He added that processing his post-traumatic stress disorder helped him “lift a weight off his chest” after starting therapy.
Later in the conversation, when the topic of his emotions came up again, Harry expressed some happiness at having managed to hold onto some of the challenging emotions he had experienced in relation to his late mother and the odd joy that resulted from them.
Prince Harry says he isn’t a victim
In his opening remarks, Gabor discussed Harry’s book’s two “divergent” streams, some of which were hostile toward him and others of which were appreciative of his sharing the tale.
Harry asserted that he was not a “victim,” and he expressed the hope that the book would “encourage others” and show how interconnected people are “through trauma.”
When talking about his 38-year life, he said he didn’t want any “sympathy” from telling his tale but instead wanted to share the moment that he thought was significant in his life rather than allowing a spin on it. Then he urged the audience to confide in loved ones and feel “vulnerable” themselves.
