How does being a royal impact your mental health?

After the explosive release of Prince Harry's book in January 2023, it seemed like all of the royal family's dirty secrets were out in the open (again). The supposed environment of social pressure, mental health stigma, and even racism was put forward for all to examine. And yet there have been ample implications in the past that being a royal is not all it's cracked up to be.

Given the media scrutiny, lack of freedom, and lack of support for those struggling within the family, it's no wonder that several royals have spoken out about struggles with their mental health. Click through this gallery to see what they had to say.

The New York Times article

It was a beautifully written piece, but difficult to read without developing a lump in your throat. It made us all the more aware that Meghan Markle has a lot to say.

'Harry & Meghan: An African Journey'

This was one of the first times Markle opened up about how she had been suffering through her battle with the British tabloids, as a new mother, and as a new royal. She had previously kept her feelings quite private, which seems like a reasonable act of self-protection given her relationship with the media.

The young Prince Harry

Harry himself has always been one of the more open members of the British royal family. His supposed “wild child” behavior was well documented in the press, and his youthful inability to fall in line with the strict code of conduct set out by the royal family made him somewhat of a black sheep in the eyes of the media.

Prince Harry shares his experience

In 2017, he revealed on a podcast that he had struggled with his grief for 20 years before finally seeking help through therapy. He explained that he had been at the point of a breakdown on several occasions, before his brother, Prince William, convinced him to see a counselor only a few years earlier.

Overwhelmed and silenced

He spoke about being overwhelmed by the lies and misconceptions that were coming at him from every angle, and his inability to speak up for himself because of his royal responsibilities. “One of the hardest things, I suppose, is not being able to have that voice and stand up for yourself, and to let it wash over you.”

Heads Together

Although Prince William is the more reserved of the two brothers, aligning with a more traditional royal persona, he has also opened up about his mental health in recent years. Prince William, his wife the Kate Middleton, and Prince Harry all teamed up for the campaign Heads Together, which aimed at destigmatizing mental health, and chipped in a few personal admissions of their own to that end.

Struggling to cope

Prior to that in 2018, Prince William also shared that he was dealing with constant sadness while working as an ambulance pilot. He believed that he was impacted by what he saw on the job even more than he realized, and brought the despair he saw home with him each day.

Prince Harry calls out the royal family

Despite these admissions, Prince Harry told Oprah that both his father and his brother are trapped within the royal system. They are both heirs to the throne and he sympathizes with them because they don’t have his freedom to speak out and step away.

Overwhelmed by the vitriol in the press

Markle told Oprah that the media attacks became severe and the royal family did nothing to protect her. It got to the point where she felt like it was all coming at her just for breathing, and she felt that she didn’t want to be alive anymore.

The Palace rejects Markle's request for help

After speaking to Prince Harry, Markle decided to go to the royal institution to tell them that she needed to go somewhere to get help. She felt that she needed an inpatient stay at a hospital or somewhere she could be treated for serious depression. Markle says she was told that this wouldn’t be possible, because it wouldn’t look good for the royal family.

Prince Harry's disappointment

Prince Harry shared that this sent him to a very dark place himself and that he didn’t know how to deal with it. He was particularly disappointed in the lack of support he received from his father, who had experienced something similar with his mother, Princess Diana.

Princess Diana and postnatal depression

Towards the end of her marriage to Prince Charles, Diana revealed her own story through a series of interviews and a biography written by Andrew Morton. She revealed that she suffered from postnatal depression after giving birth to Prince William, and that the royal family didn’t know what to do with her. She was labeled as unstable.

Princess Diana's bulimia

It’s also well known that Diana struggled with bulimia for most of her adult life. She describes how the people around her misunderstood her illness: “I was crying out for help, but giving the wrong signals, and people were using my bulimia as a coat on a hanger: they decided that was the problem–Diana was unstable.”

Going it alone

Being a royal is a full-time job that comes with unbelievable pressure and public scrutiny. It seems like it would take a lot of preparation and support to adjust to public life as a royal, but those who grow up in the family just learn to maintain a stiff upper lip. New family members are thrown in at the deep end, while everyone waits to see if they’ll sink or swim.