Prince Harry says growing up royalty was like being in a zoo
Prince Harry said he was caught in a cycle of 'pain and suffering' in the British royal family and hinted that he is highly critical of the way his father, Prince Charles, raised him, in a long and personal new interview. .
The Duke of Sussex spoke to actor Dax Shepard, host of the "Armchair Expert" podcast, in an episode posted Thursday.
On being raised as royalty, he said: “When it comes to parenting, if I have experienced any form of pain or suffering due to pain or suffering that perhaps my father or parents suffered, I will make sure to break that cycle so as not to transmit it ».
“It's a lot of genetic pain and suffering that is passed on anyway, so we as parents should do our best to try and say 'you know what, that happened to me, I'll make sure it doesn't happen to you. to you, '"he added.
And Harry said that as he got older, he realized that Carlos raised him the way he had been raised before.
“I never saw him, I never knew about it, and then all of a sudden I started to rebuild it and I said, 'Okay, this is where he went to school, this is what happened, I know this about his life, I also know that he is connected to his parents, so that means he has treated me the way they treated him, so how can I change that for my own children? ”said Harry.
The prince previously said that Carlos stopped taking his calls after he and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, resigned as active members of the royal family.
During the new interview, reference was made to a trip he made to Las Vegas during which a photo of him naked was leaked to the British press. "At least he wasn't running down the Strip," he joked.
Harry also recounted how he "freaked out" when he was in his early twenties and partying, and described his inner monologue as he struggled with the responsibilities of being a member of the royal family.
I don't want this job, I don't want to be here, I don't want to do this, look what he did to my mom, Harry remembered thinking.
He also spoke about the media in the UK. "It's a cross between 'the Truman Show' and being in a zoo," he said in reference to the 1998 Jim Carrey movie in which the main character has no idea that he is living on a giant television set where everyone is their movements are recorded.
The prince also spoke about the extent to which he and Meghan tried to keep their burgeoning relationship a secret, how his growth in the media spotlight felt and his new life in America.
Harry recalled how the attention affected the early stages of his relationship with Meghan, including a secret meeting.
"The first time Meghan and I got together for her to come and stay with me, we ran into a supermarket in London pretending we didn't know each other," he said, recounting how he wore a baseball cap covering his eyes to avoid being recognized.
While criticizing the behavior of some media outlets in the US, Harry said the situation has improved for him and his family since they moved to California.
In February it was announced that Harry and Meghan would not be returning as active members of the royal family, after retiring from their royal duties last year.
"Living here now I can lift my head and I really feel different… you can walk around feeling a little freer," he said.
"I can carry Archie on the back of my bike… he would never have had a chance to do that."
During the podcast, Harry went on to discuss changing attitudes towards mental health in society.
"Talking, especially in today's world, is a sign of strength rather than a sign of weakness," he said, before arguing that mental health is really public health.
"I think two of the biggest problems we face in the world today are the climate crisis and mental health, and the two are inextricably linked," he said.
“If we neglect our collective welfare, then we are basically ruined, because if we cannot take care of ourselves, we cannot take care of each other. If we can't take care of each other, then we can't take care of this house that we all inhabit, so it's all part of the same.
Harry has been working on a multi-episode documentary series called "The Me You Can't See" with Oprah Winfrey, which aims to help lift the veil on the current state of mental health and emotional well-being.
