Prince Harry has claimed he didn’t have a support network after returning from serving in Afghanistan and his trauma dating back to his mother Princess Diana’s death was ‘never discussed’, in another obvious swipe at the Royal Family.
The Duke of Sussex launched his new ‘Heart Of Invictus’ series on Netflix, and is at the forefront of the five-part documentary along with injured veterans, with his wife Meghan Markle emerging only briefly in several scenes to support him.
Harry also explained that it was only when he returned from war that he became aware of the trauma he still had from Diana dying in Paris in 1997 when he was aged 12.
Harry said that when he returned from the war in 2008, the ‘biggest struggle for him was no one around him really could help’, adding that he didn’t have that support structure, that network or that expert advice to identify what was actually going on with him.
He also told the show that unfortunately, like most people, the first time you consider therapy is when you’re lying on the floor in the foetal position probably wishing you had dealt with some of this stuff previously, and that’s what he really wanted to change.
In the Sussexes’ latest project as part of their £80 million deal with Netflix, Harry introduces himself as a father of two, dog owner and husband.
In the Sussexes’ latest project as part of their £80million deal with Netflix, Harry presents himself as a father of two, dog owner and husband.
The Duke of Sussex is asked by an interviewer: ‘What’s your name?’, and he replies: ‘My name’s Harry.’ The interviewer then says: ‘What do you do, Harry?’
He replies: ‘What do I do? On any given day? I’m a dad of two under-three-year-olds, got a couple of dogs, husband, I’m founding patron of Invictus Games Foundation. There’s lots of hats that one wears, but I believe today is all about Invictus.’
Also in the show, Harry and Meghan were seen in a private moment together before a speech at the Salute to Freedom Gala for veterans in New York in November 2021, in which the duke can be heard confiding in the duchess about his nerves.
Harry is heard saying: ‘We haven’t done this for a while… My heart [is] like “digidigadigadiga”‘. He paces around nervously backstage.
Harry trained as an Apache helicopter commander in 2013 after three years of training. While on a five-month tour of Afghanistan, he served as a co-pilot gunner, sharing flying assignments and taking control of the weapons of the two-man Apache.
Evidently, Harry tells us in his memoir that he killed twenty-five people during his two tours of duty, and that it wasn’t the number that filled him with satisfaction, nor did it embarrass him.
So, why did Harry leave Afghanistan? The decision was largely on the grounds that the worldwide media coverage of Harry in Afghanistan could impact the security of those who were deployed there, as well as the dangers to him as an individual soldier.
Harry served in the British Army for ten years. He completed two tours of Afghanistan, one spanning 2007 to 2008 and the other from 2012 to 2013. He gained the rank of captain in 2011 and qualified as an Apache Aircraft commander.
Prince Harry, who served for ten years in the Army and did two tours in Afghanistan is not allowed to wear military uniform because he’s not an active member of the Royal Family, although I don’t see why this should matter, he served his country like others did and he should be allowed to wear his uniform with dignity, whether he’s a working royal or not.
He also has an Afghanistan Service Medal and a Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medal. He also wears the KCVO Star, representing the Royal Victorian Order, which recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch of the Commonwealth.
The impact of the Afghanistan war affected those who served in the war and most of the soldiers suffered from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Numerous soldiers never came home the same person and had to have counselling and some kind of therapy, and some in the service who didn’t get counselling took their own lives.
This war would have impacted Harry in some sort of way, particularly if he saw his brothers-in-arms die in battle. That has to have some kind of impact on a person, after all, we are all human beings, not robots.
Harry was already extremely fragile after his mother passed, and yes, many people out there have a parent that has died or parents that have died, but some are better equipped at dealing with the situation than others are, and losing a parent at such a young age is the worst thing that can happen to anyone. We might think that being a royal at the time made him stronger with that stiff upper lip approach, but at such a young age losing a parent can have catastrophic consequences.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 