Prince Harry Describes Depression Following Move to Canada

Prince Harry has shared that he experienced a period of depression after leaving the United Kingdom with his wife Meghan Markle and their son, Prince Archie, in late 2019. During a MasterClass session titled "Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss," hosted by neuroscientist Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, the Duke of Sussex described an "adrenaline crash" he felt upon arriving in Canada.

"Being in Canada, away from the stressful environment where presumably my body was just pumped full of adrenaline, within two or three days, I experienced this adrenaline crash, something that I’d never experienced before," Harry stated.

He elaborated that he realized he "needed stress in order to get the adrenaline to make my brain function because I became useless around the house." Harry added, "I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks and I felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline."

The Sussexes initially resided in Canada for several months after announcing their step back from royal duties in January 2020, before relocating to Montecito, California. Their daughter, Lilibet, was born in June 2021. The family later moved back to the UK in August.

During the MasterClass, Harry also reflected on experiencing "absolute panic" while fulfilling his public duties in Britain. He recounted, "I started to realize that I had become seriously depleted when just putting a simple dress shirt on — the tightening of the collar — literally felt like I was suffocating, and I would be experiencing panic attacks just in the car on the way to work."

He noted that his "biggest anxiety" as a working royal was "the fear of sweating," stemming from a fear of appearing disheveled without a clear explanation. Harry also discussed how joining the military at age 20 served as a "perfect distraction" from grieving his mother, Princess Diana's, death.

"For 15, 20 years, when I was being asked, ‘Are you okay?’ My response was, ‘I’m fine,'" Harry recalled. "It was numbness, emotional shutdown. And without knowing it, adrenaline was pushing me, was driving me."

Harry indicated that his post-traumatic stress was not directly linked to his military tour in Afghanistan, but rather that experience served as a trigger for other stored traumas.

The Sussexes' return to the UK in August was reported to be partly to be closer to Harry's father, King Charles III, who has been undergoing cancer treatment. However, King Charles has clarified that the couple are in the UK as "private citizens with commercial and charitable interests."