Prince Harry Discusses His Relationship With Late Mother Princess Diana
The Duke of Sussex revealed he often speaks to a portrait of his mother, Princess Diana, and asks her what she thinks of his current life.
Prince Harry shared in a recent MasterClass session that he frequently looks at a portrait of his late mother, Princess Diana, and poses the same question: what would she think of his life today. He described feeling a strong connection to the image, noting, “I can actually get eye contact from her, and there’s a cheekiness in her smile… I just feel very connected to her.”
The portrait in question was taken by photographer Patrick Demarchelier for a Harper’s Bazaar issue in 1995. Harry admitted that he sometimes studies the photograph to see if Diana’s expression changes, though he acknowledged it never does.
Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, when Harry was 12 years old. The Duke of Sussex discussed his grief during the MasterClass session, explaining that for years after her death, he felt emotionally numb and even guilty about the prospect of experiencing happiness again. He stated, “I felt like I had to be sad and I had to be emotionally numb in order to prove to her that I missed her.”
Harry recounted that he initially struggled to look at photographs of his mother following her death, feeling that dwelling on such sadness would not bring her back. However, he eventually realized that Diana would have wanted him to be happy, a realization he described as a significant mental shift that freed him and offered a new perspective on life.
He also mentioned that he feels his mother’s presence, both as an energy and as a visual sign, especially during significant moments in his life over the past six years. "She has turned up at moments where it makes complete sense that she turned up in those moments," he said, adding that these occurrences often make him laugh out loud, seeing them as more than coincidence.
During the MasterClass, Harry also reflected on how joining the military at age 20 served as a distraction from his grief. He explained that his response to inquiries about his well-being was often “I’m fine,” masking emotional shutdown and adrenaline-driven coping mechanisms. He clarified that his post-traumatic stress was not directly linked to his military service in Afghanistan but rather that the experience triggered other stored traumas.
In past interviews, Harry has spoken about his fractured relationship with his brother, Prince William. He told "Good Morning America" co-host Michael Strahan in 2023 that he believed Diana would have been saddened by their rift, but would have understood that both brothers needed to go through certain experiences to heal their relationship.
Harry also noted that he has felt his mother's presence more strongly in the last two years than in the preceding three decades.