Harry says he ‘slipped into depression’ during royal exit

The Duke of Sussex has said he “slipped into depression for about two weeks” after relocating to Canada in 2019 ahead of his move to the US.

Prince Harry, who with his wife Meghan and their two children recently returned to the UK, said he had originally left the country to “get some space” while opening up about his mental health.

The duke also discussed a prolonged period of feeling “emotionally numb” following the death of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, because he felt “disloyal and guilty for the possibility of being happy and joyful without her”.

He and his brother, the Prince of Wales, have previously been candid about their mental health struggles, including over their mother’s death, and both are involved in mental health charities.

Prince Harry, who later stepped back from royal duties to move to California with Meghan, spoke about his emotional upheavals as part of a paid-for online masterclass on dealing with grief.

“Being in Canada, away from the stressful environment where presumably my body was just pumped full of adrenaline, within two or three days, I experienced this adrenaline crash, something that I’d never experienced before,” he recalled.

“It was as if I needed stress in order to get the adrenaline to make my brain function because I became useless around the house.

“I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks and I felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline.”