The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Sarah Marshal
Prince Harry has said he experienced an “unravelling” after he returned from his tour of Afghanistan that triggered the “trauma” of losing his mother.
The confession was made in the Duke of Sussex’s new Netflix docuseries, Heart of Invictus, released today.
The docuseries, follows a group of service members on their road to the paralympic-style sporting competition which Harry set up in 2014 for injured and sick military personnel and veterans.
Harry admits his “biggest struggle” was the lack of help he found around him “to identify actually what was going on with me”.
He said: “I didn’t have that support structure, that network or that expert advice to identify actually what was going on with me.
“Unfortunately, like most of us the first time you really consider therapy is when you are lying on the floor in the foetal position probably wishing you had dealt with some of this stuff previously.”
The duke added: “Look, I can only speak for my personal experience, my tour of Afghanistan in 2012 flying Apaches, somewhere after that there was an unravelling and the trigger for me was actually returning from Afghanistan.”
Harry said he was “angry” that his deployment was cut short after word of his whereabouts was discovered.
He said: “The whole reason I was allowed to go to Afghanistan in the first place is because it was kept a secret.
“While I was there for the 10 weeks, no one knew apart from the British press who had all said we will all keep quiet as long as we get access.
“I had spent 10 weeks on the ground in the sand will all the others.”
During a special screening of the five-part series in California, Harry emerged to introduce it, to the surprise of the audience.
In a video circulating on social media, he was heard talking about the sacrifices that veterans and their families make while serving their country.
