In a candid interview with James Corden, the Duke of Sussex revealed that the reason he stepped down from his Royal duties was largely due to his deteriorating mental health brought on by the British press.
Discover our latest podcast
Prioritizing sanity over royal duties
Prince Harry explicitly accused them of bringing on a toxic environment to his personal and professional life and feeling as though his mental health was being destroyed in the process. He explains:
We all know what the British press can be like. And it was destroying my mental health. I was like... 'this is toxic.' So I did what any husband and father would do–I need to get my family out of here. But we never walked away–and as far as I'm concerned, what decisions are made on that side–I will never walk away.
And added:
I will always be contributing—my life is public service—so wherever I am in the world it is going to be the same thing. [Meghan and I are] trying to bring some compassion and try to make people happy and change the world in any small way we can.
A work of fiction portraying what he went through
During the interview, he also revealed being a fan of Netflix's The Crown in light of the way it highlights the pressure one is subjected to when they putting royal obligations and expectations above everything else:
Of course it's not strictly accurate, but it gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle—the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else - what can come from that. I'm way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife or myself.
And continued:
Because it's the difference between fiction—take it how you will—but this [news reports] is being reported on as fact because you're supposedly news. I have a real issue with that.
