Prince Harry Discusses Mother's Death Impact in Australia Summit Keynote

Prince Harry spoke publicly about the lasting effects of Princess Diana’s death during a keynote address at the InterEdge Summit on the third day of his and Meghan Markle’s tour of Australia. He described loss as "disorienting at any age" and noted the challenges of experiencing it as a child under constant public scrutiny.

The 41-year-old royal said he nearly had a complete breakdown years after Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.

At the time, Harry was 12 years old, and his brother Prince William was 15. Harry revealed he sought help from a therapist to cope with the trauma. Harry also stated he wanted to quit his royal role following his mother’s death, citing that Diana’s royal duties contributed to the circumstances leading to her fatal accident.

The crash occurred when the Mercedes she was in, driven by Henri Paul who had alcohol and prescription drugs in his system, collided with a pillar inside Paris’ Pont de l’Alma tunnel while being chased by paparazzi. In his 2023 memoir Spare, Harry wrote about his position as the "spare" to William in the royal line of succession, saying he took no offense and recalled, "Every boy and girl, at least once, imagines themselves as a prince or a princess.

" He also claimed his father, King Charles III, branded him a spare on the day he was born.

Harry and Meghan Markle, who married in 2018 and stepped back from royal duties in 2020, currently live in a $14 million mansion in Montecito, California, with their two children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4. The couple is on a tour of Australia amid ongoing estrangement from the royal family following their 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview and 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan.

“In my experience, loss is disorienting at any age." — Prince Harry > "Experiencing that as a kid while in a goldfish bowl under constant surveillance, yes, that will have its challenges. And without purpose, it can break you." — Prince Harry > "I can safely say that losing my mom 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.”