‘Slipped into depression’: Prince Harry on leaving the UK and grieving for his mother

Patrick SawerOctober 9, 2026 — 3:30pmLondon: Prince Harry has revealed he experienced two weeks of depression after leaving the United Kingdom for Canada in 2019.The Duke of Sussex revealed for the first time how he coped with stepping down as a senior member of the royal family in a conversation with neuroscientist Dr Mary-Frances O’Connor.In the session, called Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss, he said: “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.Prince Harry in a video trailer for a MasterClass session on grief.“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.”Harry also spoke about grieving for his mother, Diana, the late Princess of Wales, saying that for many years he felt he had to be sad to prove he missed her.He added that he followed a rule of never being away from his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, for longer than 10 days.In the personal exchange released on Thursday (London time), Harry said he left the UK and moved to Canada with Meghan and Archie in 2019 to “get some space away from everything”.The Sussexes stayed on Vancouver Island before the Duke and Duchess quit the working monarchy early in 2020 and eventually moved to the US.In an about-turn, the Sussexes returned to live in the UK last month after six years in America.People magazine reported that MasterClass approached Harry last year about developing a segment on grief, and he filmed the program in California in the northern summer, though not at his house in Montecito.In a video trailer posted on Instagram, Prince Harry, who was 12 when his mother was killed in a car crash in Paris, says: “I consider myself a student of grief.”He added: “I’d spent so long emotionally numb, to a large extent, because I felt disloyal and guilty for the possibility of being happy and joyful without her.Harry said he had forgotten his mother’s laugh, and that a therapist had suggested spraying her perfume, which helped him to “unlock everything that had been locked previously”.Getty Images“I felt like I had to be sad and I had to be emotionally numb in order to prove to her that I missed her.”The duke explained he had forgotten his mother’s laugh, and that a therapist had suggested spraying her perfume, which helped him to “unlock everything that had been locked previously”.“The reality is, what I discovered was actually she just wanted me to be happy,” he said.The cost of a MasterClass membership ranges from £120 ($230) to £228 a year. During the classes, Harry will share his reflections on loss and what MasterClass describes as “the path he took to discovering his purpose”.In the class, Harry and O’Connor will share tactics on how to face loss of every kind, from death and divorce to illness, career change and relocation, and move through the pain towards what they describe as, hopefully, “a thriving new chapter”.The trailer for the duke’s grief counselling masterclass comes after his wife was seen enjoying afternoon tea with Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, at Claridge’s in Mayfair on Wednesday.The pair first met during a virtual discussion in 2020 to mark the International Day of the Girl, during which they spoke about the systemic barriers that prevented millions of girls from accessing education.The duchess’s appearance at Claridge’s was the latest since she and Harry moved back to the UK in late August.London’s Telegraph revealed last month that the duke was in talks to make a documentary about his mother. The Telegraph understands that Harry wants to mark the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death, on August 31 next year, by honouring her legacy “in the most meaningful way”.He has approached several friends and relatives of his late mother, including her brother, the Earl Spencer, to ask whether they would take part in a documentary.Support is available from Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.The Telegraph, LondonGet a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.More:Royal familyFor subscribersMental healthPrince HarryDepressionGriefFrom our partners