Prince Harry Shares Emotional Reflections on Fatherhood and Diana

Prince Harry has shared personal reflections on fatherhood, the loss of his mother, Princess Diana, and his efforts to process decades of grief during a MasterClass focused on bereavement and resilience. The Duke of Sussex discussed raising his children with Meghan Markle and explained how memories of Diana continue to shape his emotional life.

In Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss, Harry joined neuroscientist Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor to examine how grief affects the brain and body and how people adapt to life after losing someone close to them. He described fatherhood as both deeply rewarding and emotionally demanding.

Harry reflected on a photograph he took shortly before his son Archie's seventh birthday. The image shows Archie and his younger sister, Lilibet, walking barefoot on a beach, with Archie carrying a long stick and holding his sister's hand.

Harry explained why the photograph holds particular significance for him.

"I love this photo. I took this photo. This was just before Archie's birthday. The two of them, brother and sister, at peace with each other in nature fills my heart," Harry said.

He also expressed gratitude for his children's well-being and acknowledged the unexpected challenges of becoming a parent.

"I'm proud that we've got this far. You know, super happy that I've got two healthy, beautiful, amusing, very funny kids," Harry said.

Reflecting further on the experience of raising a family, he described the emotional demands of parenthood.

"Becoming a father is an emotional rollercoaster. I wish I'd known how hard being a father was going to be. But I wouldn't change it for the world," Harry said.

He added that his younger self could have benefited from a warning about the intensity of the experience.

"I think the advice I would have given to myself is, 'Hold on tight, because it's gonna be one hell of a ride.'" Harry said.

Harry also discussed a portrait of Diana taken by French photographer Patrick Demarchelier. He said the photograph helps him feel connected to his mother, who died in 1997.

"I can actually get eye contact from her, and there's a cheekiness in her smile... I just feel very connected to her," Harry said.

The portrait also prompts him to consider how Diana might view his present life.

"I find myself looking at her and wondering, what is she thinking about what I am doing right now?" Harry said.

In the years following Diana's death, Harry found photographs of her difficult to confront. He recalled that he had pictures in his school bedroom but avoided dwelling on memories that intensified his sadness.

"Even though I had photographs in my bedroom at school, I distinctly remember not thinking about my mother because thinking about something that sad was never gonna bring her back," Harry said.

Harry said that grief also complicated his ability to experience happiness without feeling disloyal to his mother.

"I'd spent so long emotionally numb, to a large extent, because I felt disloyal and guilty for the possibility of being happy and joyful without her," Harry said.

He described how he had come to associate sadness with demonstrating the depth of his loss.

"I felt like I had to be sad and I had to be emotionally numb in order to prove to her that I missed her," Harry said.

Harry also recalled his response when he learned that Diana had died and the lengthy period during which he struggled to express his grief.

"I didn't cry when I was told my mum died, only at her burial, and then not again for nearly two decades. I was convinced that was strength, but it wasn't. It was a 12-year-old boy with no permission to fall apart and no roadmap for how to heal," Harry said.

He noted that his royal position did not prevent him from struggling with the loss or ensure that he had a way to process his emotions.

"You would think I had the best help in the world. I'm a prince for God's sake, but I was still grieving and didn't have any place to put those feelings," Harry said.

Harry's comments came amid renewed attention surrounding a memoir by Diana's younger brother, Charles Spencer. His book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, recounts the princess's life and the period surrounding her death. Spencer said he felt compelled to write it ahead of the 30th anniversary of Diana's death in August 2027.

In an interview with CBS, Spencer said he had kept the project private until shortly before publication because he did not want relatives, particularly Harry, to be perceived as involved in the book.

"I decided not to have anyone involved in the book, so nobody knew about it except my wife and the publishers," Charles Spencer said.

He explained that he had deliberately withheld the information from family members until the book was about to be released.

"I didn't tell any of the family until just before it was released publicly, because I didn't want anyone to think, particularly with Harry, who people know I had to stay in the summer, that he was in any way involved in this," Spencer said.

CBS host Gayle King asked whether the princes had approved the memoir. Spencer said he had not sought their approval and recalled that Harry had asked whether the book contained anything embarrassing about him.

"I don't know about. I haven't asked about approval," Spencer said.

Spencer then described his conversation with Harry about the book's contents and privacy concerns.

"Harry was sort of like, 'Is there anything in there that would be embarrassing to me?' I said, 'Absolutely not.' You know, I'm very specific about people's privacy," Spencer said.

The memoir became the UK's bestselling hardback nonfiction book of 2026, selling 102,668 copies, according to the source report. However, its account of events surrounding Diana's death prompted disagreement with King Charles, who responded through a statement issued by the palace.

The statement emphasized the potential effects of bereavement on recollection and judgment.

"While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss," the palace statement said.

Spencer rejected the suggestion that grief had affected his recollection or judgment during his CBS interview.

"They [the palace] have to sort of pretend there's something wrong with my mind or my memory. There's nothing wrong with either," Charles Spencer said.

Harry is also considering projects to mark the 30th anniversary of Diana's death in August 2027. A documentary about his mother is among the possibilities, although no project has been confirmed.