Prince Harry has said that he began considering therapy after a breakdown he suffered after leaving Afghanistan left him “lying in the foetal position”.
The Duke of Sussex opened up about his mental health in his new Netflix series – Heart of Invictus.
He claimed that he had “no support” from the Royal Family to deal with what he had seen whilst on tour in Afghanistan.
Opening up in the series’ second episode, the prince said: “I can only speak from my personal experience, my tour of Afghanistan in 2012, flying Apaches.
Harry also spoke about the trauma of losing his mother at a young age
Netflix"Somewhere after that, there was an unravelling and the trigger to me was returning from Afghanistan.
"But the stuff that was coming up was from the age of... from 1997, from the age of 12."
Prince Harry said the shock he felt after Afghanistan gave way to traumas from a younger age, particularly the pain he felt after losing his mother.
"Losing my mum at such a young age, the trauma that I had, I was never really aware of.
"It was never discussed. I didn't talk about it. And I've suppressed it like most youngsters would have done.
"But then when it all came fizzing out, I was bouncing off the walls.
"Like, what is going on here? I'm now feeling everything as opposed to being numb.”
The Duke of Sussex claimed that there was no support structure in place to help him understand the emotions he was feeling.
It was only when he was recovering from his time in Afghanistan, did the prince realise he should consider therapy.
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Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014
Netflix
"Unfortunately, like most of us, the first time you really consider therapy is when you're lying on the floor in the foetal position, probably wishing that you dealt with some of this stuff previously."
Harry said as a result of this, he wanted the athletes at the Invictus Games to feel constantly supported.
The prince set up the Invictus Games in 2014.
They are an international multi-sport event where wounded, injured and sick serving military personnel and veterans compete.
The five-part Netflix series, which dropped this morning, follows the 2022 edition of the games, which were based in The Hague in the Netherlands.