"I couldn't function without adrenaline," Prince Harry reveals battle with depression after losing Diana

Prince Harry has spoken openly about a difficult period in his life, revealing how constant stress, the loss of his mother, Princess Diana, and stepping back from royal duties affected his emotional state.

In a new video for the MasterClass platform, the Duke of Sussex recalls the months he spent on Vancouver Island, Canada, at the end of 2019, together with Meghan Markle and their son Archie, at a time when the couple was preparing to step down from senior roles in the British royal family.

Harry says that leaving the stressful environment brought on a sudden physical and emotional reaction. According to him, after just two or three days, he experienced a sharp drop in adrenaline, a state he had never experienced before.

"I really fell into a depression that lasted about two weeks and I felt like I couldn't function without adrenaline," he recounts, explaining that for a long time stress seemed to have become part of the way he coped with everyday life.

The loss of Diana and the years of emotional numbness

An important part of Harry's story relates to the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who lost her life in a car accident in Paris in 1997, when he was just 12 years old.

In the new MasterClass program, titled “Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss,” he discusses grief and the impact that loss can have on the human mind and body, alongside neuroscientist Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor.

Harry admits that for many years he had chosen not to express his emotions and, whenever asked about his personal condition, he replied that he was fine.

"For 15 or 20 years, every time someone asked me, 'Are you okay?' I would answer, 'I'm fine,'" he says.

According to the prince, this response was accompanied by a state of emotional numbness, while adrenaline helped him move forward without fully confronting the pain.

How his way of experiencing grief changed

Harry has previously spoken about the struggles he faced after losing his mother. In a 2024 interview with Nikki Scott, founder of the charity Scotty's, he recalled how he understood grief as a child.

At that age, he thought that continuing to grieve was a way to show the lost person how much he missed them.

Over the years, however, his perspective changed. Harry explained that he came to understand that the person he had lost would have wanted him to move on with his life and be happy.

Leaving the royal family and life in the US

The revelation comes at a time when Harry and Meghan have continued their public engagements after stepping down from royal duties in 2020 and relocating to the United States.

In the months leading up to this decision, the couple had spent time in British Columbia, Canada, with the aim of distancing themselves from the pressures of royal life.

Through this story, Harry returns to one of the most difficult periods of his life and how loss experienced in childhood can continue to affect one's emotional life many years later.

By speaking openly about depression, stress, and grief, he brings to mind the importance of facing emotions and understanding loss, rather than keeping the pain hidden for years.