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.
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‘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’.”
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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