Prince Harry: ‘There was an unravelling’ after tour of Afghanistan
The Duke of Sussex has told of an “unravelling” after he returned from his tour of Afghanistan that triggered the “trauma” of losing his mother aged 12.
In his Heart of Invictus docuseries released on Netflix on Wednesday, Harry said his “biggest struggle” was “no one around me could really help”.
“I didn’t have that support structure, that network or that expert advice to identify actually what was going on with me,” he said.
“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.”
Prince Harry’s Heart of Invictus Netflix Doc
The duke, an Army veteran who undertook two tours of Afghanistan, said mental illness was a “dirty word” when he first joined the military and added he wants to cure the “stigma” within society.
“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,” he said.
“But the stuff that was coming up was from 1997, from the age of 12, 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 really talk about it – and I suppressed it like most youngsters would have done – but when it all came fizzing out I was bouncing off the walls, I was like ‘what is going on here?’, I am now feeling everything as opposed to being numb.”
Prince Harry in Afghanistan
Surprise appearance to launch series
The five-part docuseries project, which has been more than two years in the making, follows Invictus competitors from around the world as they prepare for the tournament, which was founded by Harry.
He made a surprise appearance to introduce the series during a special screening in California and is heard talking to the audience about the sacrifices that veterans and their families make while serving their country, in a video circulating on social media.
In the opening episode, he says: “I’m Harry, a dad of two… couple of dogs, husband… there’s lots of hats one wears but today is all about Invictus.”
The duke, who is father to Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, also talks about never wanting to serve in the armed forces as a father.
“I’ve always had myself down as the dad that I could never be serving whilst having kids,” he said.
The duke was executive producer of the series, which forms part of his and his wife’s multimillion-pound deal with Netflix, and follows last year’s controversial Harry & Meghan documentary.
Heart of Invictus has been released in the run-up to next month’s Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany, which the couple are both set to attend.
Read more from Sky News:
Air traffic boss says ‘unreliable’ flight data caused disruption
Property sales ‘fall to lowest level in a decade’
‘My emotions were sprayed all over the wall’
In one clip from the series, while speaking to team Canada’s Invictus athlete Darrell Ling about the “demons” on the rower’s shoulder, Harry returns to the death of Princess Diana.
“I had no emotion, I was unable to cry, I was unable to feel,” he said.
“I didn’t know it at the time. It wasn’t until later in my life, aged 28 – there was a circumstance that happened – that the first few bubbles started coming out and then suddenly someone shook it and it was… chaos.
“My emotions were sprayed all over the wall, everywhere I went.
“How the hell do I contain this? I’ve gone from nothing to everything.
“I now need to get a glass jar and put myself in it, leave the lid open and my therapist said ‘you choose what comes in and everything else bounces off’.”
UK
MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace steps down as Kirsty Wark among 13 who claim he made inappropriate sexual jokes
MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has stepped down over allegations he made a series of inappropriate sexual comments on a range of programmes over 17 years.
Broadcaster Kirsty Wark is among 13 people who have made claims, with Wallace being investigated by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.
In an interview with the BBC, the Newsnight presenter, who was a celebrity contestant on MasterChef in 2011, claimed Wallace used “sexualised language”.
“There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if it was anyone engaged with this,” Wark said.
“It was completely one-way traffic. I think people were uncomfortable and something that I really didn’t expect to happen.”
Sky News has contacted Wallace’s representative for comment.
Kirsty Wark. File pic: PA
‘Fully cooperating’
Banijay UK said the complaints were made to the BBC this week by “individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with Gregg Wallace on one of our shows”.
The company said the 60-year-old, who has been a co-presenter and judge of the popular cooking show since 2005, was “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process”.
“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” the company said.
“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.
“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
A BBC spokesman said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.
“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”
Previous investigation
Last month, Wallace responded to reports that a previous BBC review had found he could continue working at the corporation following reports of an alleged incident in 2018 when he appeared on Impossible Celebrities.
Wallace said those claims had been investigated “promptly” at the time and said he had not said “anything sexual” while appearing on the game show more than half a decade ago.
In an Instagram post following an article in The Sun newspaper, he wrote: “The story that’s hitting the newspapers was investigated promptly when it happened six years ago by the BBC.
“And the outcome of that was that I hadn’t said anything sexual. I’ll need to repeat this again. I didn’t say anything sexual.”
Read more from Sky News:
Davina McCall feeling ‘stronger’ after brain tumour surgery
Robbie Williams says people from the 90s shouldn’t be shamed
Alongside MasterChef, Wallace presented Inside The Factory for BBC Two from 2015.
Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014. Pic: PA
Wallace has featured on various BBC shows over the years, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, as well as being a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2014.
He was made an MBE for services to food and charity last year.
Recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace will be transmitted as planned, the PA news agency understands.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports8 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway