The 41-year-old royal appeared at the InterEdge Summit held at Melbourne’s CENTREPIECE venue on Thursday (16 April), alongside Meghan Markle. He had been scheduled to deliver the keynote address, which was expected to focus mainly on mental health in the workplace.
He opened by acknowledging the current global climate, saying many people are feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and powerless.
Not long into his 19-minute speech, however, he shifted to something more personal, reflecting on moments in his own life when he felt “lost,” “betrayed,” and without control, particularly after the death of his mother, Princess Diana.
Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, alongside Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul. Harry was just 12 at the time, while his brother Prince William was 15.
Speaking to the audience, Harry said he wasn’t sure whether he was expected to appear as someone who had everything figured out or someone still struggling behind the scenes. He noted that while his life experiences may be unusual, the emotions tied to them are something many people can relate to.
He went on to explain that grief can be deeply disorienting at any age and doesn’t simply fade when ignored. Experiencing that level of loss as a child, especially under intense public scrutiny, made it even more difficult.
“There have been many times when I’ve felt overwhelmed,” he admitted, adding that there were periods when he felt lost, betrayed, and under constant pressure, both externally and internally. Despite that, he often felt he had to carry on as if everything was fine, not wanting to disappoint others.
For years, he said, he coped by shutting down emotionally, which may have felt easier at the time, though he lacked the tools to properly process what he was going through.
Harry also touched on his decision in 2020 to step back from royal duties with Meghan, a move the couple said was influenced by ongoing pressures and concerns for their well-being. This week, he shared that his mother’s experience played a role in that decision.
He recalled thinking he didn’t want the path he was on, saying it reminded him too much of what had happened to his mother. For a long time, he avoided confronting it directly, but eventually began to reconsider how he could use his position differently.
That shift, he explained, came from asking himself what someone else might do with the same platform, and more importantly, what his mother would have wanted him to do.
