The touching reason Prince Harry finally shared his mental health struggles

Prince Harry famously bucked tradition to open up about his mental health struggles in the past, and now the brand new father-of-one has revealed the reason why.

According to a source close to the royal, the 34-year-old did it all to raise awareness and help others in need.

Harry’s mental health struggles

In a surprisingly candid interview back in 2017, Harry revealed that he had spent years managing his mental health, and has undertaken therapy to come to terms with his mother Princess Diana’s untimely death.

At one point in the podcast interview with Telegraph columnist Bryony Gordon, Harry admitted that he had been “very close to total breakdown on numerous occasions”.

The prince’s frankness about his mental health stood in stark contrast with the royal family’s typically tight-lipped stance on private matters.

But according to ITV News royal editor Chris Ship, Harry had a touching reason for sharing his personal battles.

“I remember talking to Harry about this... I said, ‘Look, royals aren’t meant to open up, we’re not meant to know what you think,’” Chris told Yahoo UK’s The Royal Box.

The Duke’s duty

According to Chris, the Duke’s response was, “Look, this is my way of doing duty and service. My grandmother had a certain way of doing it but my way is to say ‘okay, I sought some help professionally for mental illness’.”

“If that encourages other people to talk about it or go and seek some help then that’s me imparting my duty and service,” Chris recalled Harry saying.

“I thought that was a very interesting answer, that’s how they see their role changed in a very distinct way from their grandmother’s role of duty and service and that’s why they have opened up,” Chris added.

Chris went on to credit Harry with inspiring his older brother, Prince William, to speak about their mum a couple of years ago on the anniversary of her death.

William opens up

Also on The Royal Box, royal commentator Omid Scobie recalls William telling him about his own struggle to deal during his two year stint as a search and rescue pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

“He said that often at the end of his day to unload everything that he had taken on was a real struggle for him,” said Omid.

Will would come home and “zone out” in front of the TV for a while before talking things through with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, Omid explained.

“So he has been on this journey himself of kind of understanding his own emotional wellbeing. I think now he is in a position where he can share a lot of that with the world.”

The dad-of-three completed his last shift as an air ambulance pilot in July 2017. Prior to that, Wills served for almost five years as a helicopter pilot with the RAF’s Search and Rescue Force.

William and his wife Kate are set to continue to address men’s mental health through their ‘Heads Together’ charity which has teamed up with the Football Association to reposition mental wellbeing as just as important as physical wellbeing.

The ‘Heads Up’ campaign follows on from William’s appearance in a BBC documentary alongside various football stars in which he opened up about his own views on mental health.

By opening up, both William and Harry have “changed the conversation”, Chris tells The Royal Box.

“I think they have done an absolutely fantastic job and you will be hard-pressed to find anyone in the country, particularly anyone in the mental health sphere, who doesn’t think they have done an amazing job,” he added.

Additional reporting by Ellen Manning.

Mental health support for yourself or a loved one can be found by calling Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978, or the Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.

Online support is available via Beyond Blue.