Prince Harry revealed more about his childhood, his hopes for parenting and the challenges growing up royal in a new personal interview. The interview, conducted for Dax Shepard’s podcast “Armchair Expert,” was released Thursday.
As Insider reports, Harry, the Duke of Sussex, opened up about his own mental health and the ways his childhood affected him growing up and still affects him now.
On growing up in the Royal Family:
Growing up under the media spotlight, Harry described the environment as “a mix between ‘the Truman Show’ and being in a zoo.” His comment referenced the 1998 film by Jim Carrey where the main character’s life is fully recorded and broadcasted, CNN said.
- This, coupled with childhood trauma, fueled his days of “wild partying,” Harry shared in the interview.
For the first time, Harry shared that he had considered leaving royal life since his 20s and before he met Meghan Markle. When the couple first decided to step down from the royal family and later decided not to return, Markle received major backlash from many saying she motivated the decision. Harry’s comment firmly denies this, Fox News reports.
Now, Harry says he is happy with their decision, saying:
- “So living here now I can actually lift my head and I feel different,” he said. “My shoulders have dropped, so have hers, you can walk around feeling a little bit more free, I can take Archie on the back of my bicycle, I would never have had the chance to do that.”
On his role as a parent
Talking about his thoughts on parenting, Harry indicated criticism of his own father, Prince Charles, saying:
- “When it comes to parenting, if I’ve experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, I’m going to make sure I break that cycle so that I don’t pass it on,” Harry said, according to CNN.
Harry and Meghan have a two-year-old son, Archie, and are expecting a baby girl, Insider says.
During the rest of the interview, Harry shared his thoughts on the importance of mental health and the climate crisis as the two biggest issues facing the world today.