“It Killed My Mother” — Prince Harry Reveals Lifelong Reluctance Toward Royal Duties

Prince Harry has once again cast a spotlight on his fractured relationship with the British Monarchy, revealing that he harboured a deep-seated desire to exit royal life as far back as his childhood.

Speaking at the InterEdge Summit in Melbourne, Australia, the Duke of Sussex shared emotional reflections on the trauma following the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. Harry disclosed that the circumstances of her passing during a high-speed chase involving paparazzi instilled in him an immediate aversion to the “job” of being a working royal.

“After my mum died just before my 13th birthday, I was like, ‘I don’t want this job. I don’t want this role,” Harry told the summit attendees. He candidly described years of feeling “lost, betrayed, and powerless,” admitting that he spent a significant portion of his adult life “sticking his head in the sand” before realising he could forge a different path.

The Duke’s comments come amid his and Meghan Markle’s current tour of Australia. While Harry focused on professional development and personal purpose, the Duchess of Sussex addressed students at Swinburne University of Technology, focusing on the pervasive dangers of digital spaces. Meghan shared her own harrowing experiences with online harassment, claiming she had been “attacked and trolled” for a decade. “I’m still here,” she told the audience, emphasising her resilience against systemic bullying.

The couple’s latest public declarations reinforce the narrative established in their 2022 documentary and Harry’s memoir, Spare. Since stepping back from senior royal duties in 2020 and relocating to California, the Sussexes have maintained a steady distance from King Charles III and the Prince and Princess of Wales.