Prince Harry Left to "Suffer" After Princess Diana's Death

london september 6 the prince of wales with prince william and prince harry outside westminster abbey at the funeral of diana, the princess of wales on september 6, 1997 photo by anwar husseinwireimage

(Image credit: Anwar Hussein)

published 7 June 2021

During a recent interview, Prince Harry opened up about the way his father, Prince Charles, reacted after the death of his mother, Princess Diana.
"My father used to say to me when I was younger, he used to say to both William and I, 'Well it was like that for me so it's going to be like that for you,'" Harry explained during a candid conversation with Oprah Winfrey for The Me You Can't See.
Harry went on to say that he doesn't believe a child should have to suffer just because their parents did and that parents should "do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences you had, that you can make it right for your kids."

Prince Harry is parenting his children differently than he was raised, at least in some ways.

The 36-year-old royal has been increasingly open about his struggles with mental health in recent years and has been especially candid during his recent appearances on AppleTV+'s The Me You Can't See with Oprah Winfrey.

During one of his conversations with Oprah, the royal discussed the way his father, Prince Charles, reacted after the death of his mother, Princess Diana. According to Harry, Charles wasn't very open, emotionally, which followed a pattern from his own youth. Harry expressed that he disagrees with how the situation was handled, however.

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"My father used to say to me when I was younger, he used to say to both William and I, 'Well it was like that for me so it's going to be like that for you,'" Harry explained, according to The Mirror. "That doesn't make sense. Just because you suffered doesn't mean that your kids have to suffer, in fact quite the opposite."

Harry went on to make it clear that he has a different philosophy as a parent and that he would handle things differently with his own children, Archie, 2, and newborn Lilibet.

"If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences you had, that you can make it right for your kids," Harry said.

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.