Prince Harry Opens Up About Suppressing Grief After Losing His Mother, Princess Diana: “It’s Not Sustainable, and Will Eat Away At You Inside”

Harry spoke to an organization founded to support bereaved military children just ahead of the announcement that he will receive ESPN’s Pat Tillman Award at the 2024 ESPYs on July 11.

Prince Harry
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince Harry—who is a global ambassador for the charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers—shared a heartbreaking admission about the impact of his mother Princess Diana’s death in 1997 as he comforted a war widow during an emotional sit-down, Hello reports.

Harry became a global ambassador for the organization last November but has been involved with Scotty’s Little Soldiers since 2017; the charity supports more than 670 bereaved military children and young people up to age 25, “offering one-to-one bereavement support, guidance to parents and carers, fun activities such as holidays and group events, and learning assistance,” Hello writes. In a new video shared by Scotty’s Little Soldiers, Harry spoke with the organization's founder, Nikki Scott, about the impact of bereavement on kids. It’s something that, unfortunately, Harry knows from personal experience—he lost his mother, Diana, in a car accident when he was just 12 years old. 

Prince Harry and Nikki Scott of Scotty's Little Soldiers

Prince Harry and Nikki Scott, who founded Scotty's Little Soldiers in 2010 to help bereaved military children deal with grief.

(Image credit: Scotty's Little Soldiers)

“You convince yourself that the person you’ve lost wants you, or you need to be sad for as long as possible to prove to them that they are missed,” Harry said. “But then there’s this realization of, no, they must want me to be happy.”

Scott explained how the charity teaches bereaved military children to celebrate their parent’s life, and Harry spoke about the importance of not suppressing emotions. “That’s the hardest thing, especially for kids, I think, which is ‘I don’t want to talk about it because it will make me sad, but once realizing if I do talk about it, and I’m celebrating their life, then, actually, things become easier,’” he said.

Harry continued, of suppressing grief, that it can help someone cope “for a period of time,” but added “You can’t suppress it forever. It’s not sustainable, and will eat away at you inside. No one wants to be in the position where they are forced to talk about the very thing they don’t want to talk about—especially when every defense mechanism in your mind, nervous system, and everything else is saying, ‘Do not go there,’” per The Mirror

Prince Harry and Nikki Scott of Scotty's Little Soldiers

Harry was named global ambassador for Scotty's Little Soldiers last November, though he has been involved with the organization for years.

(Image credit: Scotty's Little Soldiers)

Harry looked visibly moved as Scott recalled the harrowing moment she had to tell her five-year-old son, Kai, that his father, Corporal Lee Scott, had been killed while serving in Afghanistan in 2009. “It was the worst,” she said. “How do you tell a five-year-old this? I took him up and sat him on the bed and I said, ‘Kai, do you remember where Daddy was?’ and he said ‘Yeah, Afghan.’ And I said, ‘Something really bad has happened, and the baddies—because he used to play Army—have hurt Dad, and he’s died.’” In the aftermath of her husband’s death, Scott founded Scotty’s Little Soldiers in 2010, hoping to provide long-term support to other bereaved military children.

“What you’ve done is incredible,” Harry said as he hugged Scott. “It is truly inspirational. I’m really honored and privileged to be part of Scotty’s now, and I really look forward to us doing everything we can to bring in more people, more interest, raise more funds, and be able to get the message out there to get more kids the support they so desperately need.”

In recent years, Harry has been more open about his grief surrounding Diana’s death. In January 2023, promoting his memoir, Spare, out that same month, Harry told Tom Bradby that he only cried once following Diana’s passing—at her burial. He also revealed to The Telegraph in 2017 that he had “shut down all his emotions” and said he only began to address his profound grief when he was 28 years old, and did so, Hello reports, by seeking counseling and taking up boxing. 

Prince Harry

Harry, seen here in his medals, served in the British Army for 10 years, including two tours in Afghanistan.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Scotty’s Little Soldiers released the video with Harry yesterday ahead of Armed Forces Day in the U.K., which “is commemorated annually in the U.K. on the last Saturday in June as an opportunity to support the military community, from active personnel to veterans, cadets, and service families,” People reports.

During Harry’s most recent visit to the U.K. last month—when he marked the 10-year anniversary of the Invictus Games, which also supports active military personnel and veterans—he made a surprise appearance at a Scotty’s Little Soldiers event, not long before he traveled to Nigeria with wife Meghan Markle. “It is such a positive thing for us,” Scott told People about Harry’s involvement with the organization. “The fact that [Harry] was bereaved as a child and served in the military—the young people we support really resonate with him.” 

Prince Harry

So much of Harry's work supports the military community, both active personnel and veterans, and he will receive the Pat Tillman Award for his work at the 2024 ESPYs next month.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Harry’s comments come just as news broke today that he will receive ESPN’s Pat Tillman Award at the 2024 ESPYs on July 11 “for his work making a positive impact for the veteran community,” The Hollywood Reporter writes.

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Rachel Burchfield
Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.