LONDON — Britain’s Prince Harry has revealed to the BBC that he regrets not talking about how the death of his mother, Princess Diana, affected him.
The 31-year-old was 12 when the Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
The royal spoke at an event for the mental health charity, Heads Together. He was also filmed opening up to former Manchester United footballer, Rio Ferdinand.
“I really regret not ever talking about it,” Harry told Ferdinand. “For the first 28 years of my life, I never talked about it.”
The event, which was hosted at Kensington Palace, was attended by several high-profile sports stars who were invited to open up about experiences in their past. Harry set the charity up with his brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate Middleton.
“The key message here today is that everyone can suffer from mental health,” Harry told the BBC.
“Whether you’re a member of the royal family, whether you’re a soldier, whether you’re a sport star. It doesn’t really matter. Everyone can suffer.”
He explained it was important for those grieving to talk about their feelings: “It’s OK to suffer, but as long as you talk about it. It’s not weakness. Weakness is having a problem and not recognizing it and not solving that problem.”
The prince has recently followed in the footsteps of his mother while campaigning to end today’s AIDS epidemic.
“When my mother held the hand of a man dying of AIDS in East London hospital, no one would have imagined that just over a quarter of a century later, treatment would exist that could see HIV-positive people live full, healthy loving lives,” he said at the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa.
