Prince Harry revealed that he considered leaving the Royal Family

‘There was a time I felt I wanted out’

prince harry lookalike
(Image credit: Rex Features (Shutterstock))

‘There was a time I felt I wanted out’

It is no secret that Prince Harry struggled with his royal status and the public attention that came with it during his teenage years.

‘There was a time I felt I wanted out’, the 32-year old prince recently explained, going on to describe how he struggled mentally, coming close to several breakdowns and experiencing panic attacks following his mother’s death.

‘I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12 and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years has had quite a serious effect on not only my personal life but also my work as well’ he explained. ‘My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand, refusing to ever think about my mum, because why would that help?’

Crediting his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, as his inspiration for staying in the Royal Family, Harry explained ‘I decided to stay in “The Firm” and work out a role for myself.’

'I am determined to have a relatively normal life and if I am lucky enough to have children they can have one too,' he continued in an interview with the Mail. 'We don’t want to be just a bunch of celebrities, but instead use our role for good.’

Prince Harry has been doing just that, championing wounded soldiers, creating the Invictus Games and spearheading the Heads Together Campaign, fighting the stigma around mental illness.

‘We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people,’ he explained.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.