“I was willing to drink, I was willing to take drugs, I was willing to do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling.”

Prince Harry has shared that he used both alcohol and drugs to ‘mask’ his feelings following the death of his mother, the Princess of Wales.

Chatting once again to Oprah Winfrey, this time in his own documentary series focused on de-stigmatising mental health issues The Me You Can’t See, he shared that he felt there was ‘no justice’ over Diana’s death. Ultimately, he shares that he turned to alcohol and drugs to deal with his grief.

Princess Diana died in a car accident in 1997. Harry was 12 years old when his mother passed away.

He said: “I was willing to drink, I was willing to take drugs, I was willing to do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling.”

“But I slowly became aware that, OK, I wasn’t drinking Monday to Friday but I would probably drink a week’s worth in one day on a Friday or a Saturday night.”

When asked if he was drinking alcohol because he liked it, he said he wasn’t, but rather, “because [he] was trying to mask something… [he was] completely unaware of it”.

This comes the same week as the Prince released a public statement condemning the BBC for their 1995 interview with his mother.

It’s come to light that Martin Bashir, the BBC journalist who infamously interviewed Diana during the groundbreaking appearance, coerced the Royal into trusting him with forged documents.

Continuing to describe his trauma, Prince Harry shared that until he was about 32 years old, he found small acts like getting in a car difficult, as it triggered subconscious memories of the accident.

He said: “I would feel as though my body temperature was two or three degrees warmer than everybody else in the room. I would convince myself that my face was bright red and therefore, everybody could see how I was feeling, but no one would know why, so that was embarrassing.”

It’s believed that in coming episodes, Harry will share how therapy helped him to face – and overcome – his personal trauma.

He is now married to Meghan Markle, has a son, Archie, and another baby on the way. The family currently live in California.

Buckingham Palace has released a statement on the matter. It reads: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning.

“While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”

To contact Alcoholics Anonymous, call 0800 9177 650 or email help@aamail.org. Help is available 24/7.

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