Prince Harry has revealed he sought counselling after two years of dealing with total chaos and shutting down all his emotions for 20 years since his mother, Princess Diana of Wales, passed away.
The 32-year-old brother of Prince William told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that he spent nearly two decades "not thinking" about his mother's death. My way of dealing with this was to practice the politics of the ostrich, to refuse to think of my mother, because how could this help me?
"The experience I have had is that once you start talking about it, you realize that actually you're part of quite a big club", Harry said.
It was not until he was 28 that he sought help from mental health professionals after encouragement from others, including "huge support" from his older brother, Prince William.
Here is a break with the British monarchy's stiff-upper-lip tradition, in the name of destigmatizating mental health struggles: Prince Harry has given an interview about his long-running emotional struggles in the wake of his mother's very public death, culminating in finally getting some help in his late 20s.
But the interview was meant to promote another of Harry's charities, called Heads Together, which brings together several charities aimed at breaking the stigma of mental health issues.
Harry revealed that because of all the anxieties, questions and lies being full up to the brim, he made a decision to spend his teenage years and twenties not thinking about Princess Diana.
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Heads Together, an umbrella organisation for mental health charities, is the London Marathon's charity of the year, and on Tuesday William will attend a screening of BBC documentary Mind Over Marathon, which follows a group of runners affected by mental health as they prepare for the race.
It was by far the most frank interview of Harry's life, and gives the public its first glimpse of the inner turmoil he suffered growing up in the public eye after losing his mother when he was only 12.
Responding to his comments, Mrs May said: "Mental health problems affect people of all ages and all backgrounds".
Prince Harry likes to talk. He didn't let his "emotions be part of anything, he said, and tried to behave like a "typical" 20-something". That unusual feeling I was trying to understand was one of the most complex and hard things someone will ever face - grief.
The stars then urged people to talk about any struggles they may be facing to normalise mental health issues. He also took up boxing "because everyone was saying boxing is good for you and it's a really good way of letting out aggression". "You sit down on the sofa and say: 'Listen, I don't actually need your advice". According to him, he was "on the verge of punching someone" in everyday life.
"I've now been able to take my work seriously, and take my private life seriously, as well, and be able to put blood, sweat and tears into the things that really make a difference".
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