The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in Sydney today after completing the Melbourne leg of their “royal tour.” As I said, I’m actually fine with calling it a royal tour at this point, because that’s exactly what it is. The left-behind Windsors should take it as a compliment as well – Harry and Meghan are literally doing “royal-touring” better than any of the “working royals.” This Australian visit was very focused on mental health, and Harry has already delivered his (paid) speech at the InterEdge Summit. Quotes from his speech are being widely reported, and I have questions about that. People Magazine had extensive coverage of Harry’s speech, but they cite PA Media (Press Association) for the quotes. Other outlets aren’t citing PA Media – did the summit give out press passes, or did certain royal reporters pay for tickets? I don’t know. Here’s some of what Harry said:
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry wrapped up the third day of their trip to Australia with a private charity event, where Harry delivered the keynote address and made moving comments about his mental health and experiences with grief. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the InterEdge Summit at the CENTREPIECE venue at Melbourne Park on Thursday, April 16 (local time). It was previously announced that Prince Harry would be a keynote speaker on workplace mental health at the summit on leadership in the workplace.
While speaking to the audience in a 19-minute address, Harry, 41, said he had felt “lost, betrayed or completely powerless” during his life as wife Meghan, 44, watched on.
The Duke told the audience that there was a “lot in the world right now leaving us feeling anxious, stressed, helpless, powerless and completely overwhelmed,” PA Media reported.
“When I was invited to speak at this summit, I wasn’t sure whether I was expected to speak as someone who, despite everything, has their s— together. Or as someone who, despite what it may look like, actually doesn’t have his s— together.” Harry continued. “But I was struck by something quite simple —that while my experiences may be unusual, the feelings that come with them are not.”
Harry then commented on his experience with grief amid the loss of his mother Princess Diana, who died following a car accident in Paris in August 1997.
“In my experience, loss is disorienting at any age,” Harry said. “Grief does not disappear because we ignore it. 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,” he added, per PA Media.
“There have been many times when I’ve felt overwhelmed,” Harry continued. “Times when I’ve felt lost, betrayed, or completely powerless. Times when the pressure – externally and internally — felt constant. And times when, despite everything going on, I still had to show up pretending everything was okay, so as not to let anyone down. For many years I was numb to it, and perhaps that was easier then, but I also didn’t yet have the tools to deal with it.”
Harry also opened up about how his time in the military helped him build resilience, saying that the experience, which featured two tours of duty to Afghanistan, taught him resilience wasn’t about pushing issues down but building the capacity to deal with those that comes up.
In a discussion after his address with Australian business leader and former politician Brendan Nelson, Harry said that after his mother “died just before my 13th birthday,” he felt alienated from his royal destiny as he struggled with her death and grief.
“I was like, ‘I don’t want this job. I don’t want this role — wherever this is headed, I don’t like it,’ ” Harry said, PA Media reported. “It killed my mum and I was very much against it, and I stuck my head in the sand for years and years. Eventually I realized, well, hang on, if there was somebody else in this position, how would they be making the most of this platform and this ability and the resources that come with it to make a difference in the world? And also, what would my mum want me to do? And that really changed my own perspective,” he added.
Already this week, I’ve complimented Harry for being a role model of healthy masculinity, able to access his vulnerability and own his flaws without drowning in toxicity. I have another compliment for him – it takes a lot of effort to remain so open-hearted and optimistic. Imagine how easy it would be for Harry to become jaded and cynical about everything he’s been through, to say “after everything that’s happened to me, I burned all of those bridges.” His memoir, Spare, was a lot of things, but it was never about cynicism. It was always a therapeutic journey for him, to understand what happened and how his grief and trauma affected him long-term.
Incidentally, if you go to Meghan’s OneOff account, you can see her look at this event. What Meg Wore also did a breakdown.
Note by CB: Meghan is wearing the Posse Emma linen midi skirt and Emma Linen vest. (This post contains our affiliate links. If you’d like to support What Meghan Wore you can follow the affiliate links in their tweet.)
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
