Harry made the revelation in his new series on mental health.
Prince Harry has revealed that his wife Meghan Markle was only prevented from killing herself by concern over him “losing another woman” in his life.
Talking to Oprah Winfrey as part of his new docuseries, The Me You Can’t See, the Duke of Sussex opened up about the night that Meghan told him she was suicidal.
The pair had been married for less than a year and she was pregnant with their son Archie when, in January 2019, she told him she was deeply depressed. Markle first made the thoughts public in her interview with Oprah in March.
In the new series, Harry tells the American TV host, who helped produce the series with Harry for Apple TV: “The thing that stopped her from seeing it through was how unfair it would be on me after everything that had happened to my mum and to now to be put in a position of losing another woman in my life — with a baby inside of her, our baby.”
He continued: “The scariest thing for her was her clarity of thought.
“She hadn’t ‘lost it.’ She wasn’t crazy. She wasn’t self-medicating, be it through pills or through alcohol.
“She was absolutely sober. She was completely sane. Yet in the quiet of night, these thoughts woke her up.”
Harry went on to say that he did not know how to handle her confession and that he was “somewhat ashamed of the way that he dealt with them,” and that it was a revelation for him that they “could not continue the way they were.”
He said: “Because of the system that we were in and the responsibilities and the duties that we had, we had a quick cuddle and then we had to get changed to jump in a convoy with a police escort and drive to the Royal Albert Hall for a charity event. Then step out into a wall of cameras and pretend as though everything’s okay.
“There wasn’t an option to say, ‘you know what, tonight, we’re not going to go’ because just imagine the stories that come from that.
“While my wife and I were in those chairs, gripping each other’s hand, the moment the lights go down, Meghan starts crying. I’m feeling sorry for her, but I’m also really angry with myself that we’re stuck in this situation.
“I was ashamed that it got this bad. I was ashamed to go to my family.
“Because to be honest with you, like a lot of other people my age could probably relate to, I know that I’m not gonna get from my family what I need.
Harry makes the revelations to Oprah as part of his new docuseries which looks at people’s experiences with battling issues of depression, trauma, anxiety, and mental illness. Along with some from around the world, celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Glenn Close and NBA star DeMar DeRozan also talk about their struggles with mental health.
An emotional trailer for the series was released on Monday.
This timely docuseries explores the current state of the world’s mental health and emotional well-being through storytelling. Co-created by @Oprah and Prince Harry, #TheMeYouCantSee is about people, our experiences, and why we feel the way that we do. https://t.co/tP72EW6k2A pic.twitter.com/pvmU6LnbtF
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) May 17, 2021
