Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced to the world on Jan. 8, 2020, that they would step down as senior working members of the British royal family in a move popularly dubbed “Megxit.” By spring of 2020, the transition was complete, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were no longer carrying out royal duties. Now that Prince Harry and Meghan have left the UK, moved to Canada and lastly settled in Montecito, California, the couple has been speaking out about their experiences as royals.
On Mar. 7, 2021, Meghan and Harry sat down for a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey that not only touched upon their lives post-Megxit, but also revealed some of the struggles and issues the couples had surrounding Meghan marrying into the family, their son Archie and more. The interview also covered the familiar topic of mental health, harkening back to Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, who was very outspoken on the topic. Meghan critiqued the British monarchy as an institution, Harry talked about relationship tensions with his father and brother and together, the pair discussed personal security. Since the big interview, even more information about Harry’s feelings on the royal family has come out.
On Thursday, May 13, 2021, Prince Harry was the featured guest on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, and the former royal got extremely candid about his experience in the royal family and how he thought about leaving before meeting Meghan in his early 20s.
Read on to learn more about Prince Harry’s revealing podcast interview with Dax Shepherd.
Prince Harry is best known for being the Duke of Sussex, aside from the fact that he and his wife, Meghan Markle, made their royal departure in 2020. Harry is the youngest son of King Charles III and the late Princess Diana. His older brother is Prince William.
With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8, 2022, many royal family members gathered to be together during this difficult time. Along with this came several new changes in the royal line for succession and new titles for several royal family members.
However, Harry has lived a life outside the family for quite some time now, as he and Meghan are raising their two children – Archie and Lilibet – in California in the United States. Although they had stepped down from their duties as senior royals the previous year, the year 2021 is when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made the move to embark on their new life together.
In summer of that year, Lilibet was born and was named in honor of both her late great-grandmother and Harry’s late mother. Lilibet’s birth propelled the couple back into the press after a few months of laying low following their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
Harry’s TV show with Winfrey, “The Me You Can’t See,” also premiered in 2021. He later went on to have a book deal of his own, with his first official memoir coming out sometime in fall 2022. Through it all, the Duke of Sussex has been dedicated to breaking stigmas surrounding mental health and providing resources to help as many people as possible.
“The Me You Can’t See” was executive produced by Winfrey and Harry and features the two discussing emotional well-being and mental health with a number of celebrity guests, including Lady Gaga, Glenn Close, DeMar DeRozan and Langston Galloway.
The show also featured Winfrey and Harry opening up about their own experiences with mental illness. Focusing on making sure viewers know they are not alone in the struggle that sometimes happens with mental health, the show’s goal is to challenge stigmas and provide insight into how viewers can start the path to treatment.
In an episode of “The Me You Can’t See,” Harry touched more on the racism his wife has faced and how similar it was to what his late mother and her Egyptian boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed experienced in the 1990s. He said that “history was repeating itself,” as per The Independent.
However, many people were unaware of all of this prior to Harry and Meghan’s interview with Winfrey.
Speaking with Gayle King in a September 2022 CBS interview, Winfrey spoke more about the “bombshell” interview she did with Harry and Meghan. “I was as surprised by the bombshell as everybody else,” Winfrey explained. “I was doing an interview to offer them a platform to tell their story about why they left, and that was my number one intention was just clarity on ‘Why did you leave?’”
She added, “And so some of the things that were revealed in that interview came as a surprise to me and those surprises are now referred to as a ‘bombshell.’”
Winfrey also said that she just wanted to give Meghan and Harry a platform to share their side of the story. “But I didn’t set out to do a ‘bombshell’ interview,” she said. “I set out to do an interview, have a conversation that would allow them to tell their story.”
Ever since the couple officially left the royal family, Harry and Meghan eschewed social media, instead opting to release official statements via their foundation, Archewell. This means that the last birthday of Harry’s that Meghan publicly celebrated was his 35th. In an Instagram post shared to the couple’s former royal account, Markle wrote a loving message to her husband along with a sweet collage featuring nine photos of the prince throughout his life. The post read:
“Your service to the causes you care so deeply for inspires me every day. You are the best husband and most amazing dad to our son. We love you! Happiest birthday!”
In the collage of photos, the first image showed the late Princess Diana holding Harry as a baby. Meanwhile, the last photo caught the attention of many avid royal fans, as it featured a previously-unseen photo of Archie at his Christening cradled by his mother.
Although the couple is no longer actively using their royal account, it’s still common for other royals to share birthday wishes via their channels, so it was no surprise that Harry received well-wishes from his family, including his brother Prince William and Kate Middleton, his father King Charles III and Camilla, Queen consort and his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.
Although they’ve mostly kept a low profile since leaving the royal family, Harry and Meghan have stayed busy. For Harry, he has a strong focus on his highly anticipated memoir. Working with Pulitzer Prize-winning ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer, the book is expected to be released in late 2022.
In the announcement released by Penguin Random House, the memoir is described as:
“Covering his lifetime in the public eye from childhood to the present day, including his dedication to service, the military duty that twice took him to the frontlines of Afghanistan, and the joy he has found in being a husband and father, Prince Harry will offer an honest and captivating personal portrait, one that shows readers that behind everything they think they know lies an inspiring, courageous, and uplifting human story.”
In the press release, Harry released a statement himself, explaining that he’s writing the memoir “not as the prince (he) was born but as the man (he has) become.” He expressed that his hope in telling his story — “the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned” — is that he “can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think.”
Meghan has also released a book of her own – a children’s book titled “The Bench.” The story began as a poem that Meghan wrote to Harry one Father’s Day before it was turned into a book with illustrations by Christian Robinson. Released in June 2021, it didn’t take long for “The Bench” to become a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, proving that Meghan’s talents lie in much more than just acting. After hitting the No. 1 New York Times bestseller list, Meghan personally thanked her fans via the couple’s Archewell website.
Megan also showed her dedication to helping others by launching the 40×40 project. In a home video, Meghan explained that the initiative was brought on by teaming up with 40 “friends, activists, athletes, artists, and world leaders.” It started a global effort for people to offer 40 minutes of mentorship to women reentering the workforce.
Meghan said:
“With this time, I hope they each help someone advance a professional life on her own terms, and, I hope that they inspire countless others to give 40 minutes of their time as well. If you are able, please JOIN US and pledge 40 minutes today in service of others in the way that feels right to you. The time that you donate can contribute to a GLOBAL WAVE OF SERVICE and set in motion meaningful impact in our own communities, and across the world.”
Harry has also been dedicated to charity work and encouraging others to open up about their mental health issues. With Archewell, Harry and Meghan focus on non-profit activities and creative media ventures. Harry’s show, “The Me You Can’t See,” also focuses on mental health.
In September 2022, Harry and Meghan traveled to the United Kingdom for charity work and, like the world, were heartbroken over the news of the queen’s passing. Harry traveled to Scotland to be with his family during the difficult time. Although there is so much heartache in the royal family right now, there is also joy in the sense that many members have been reunited.
But still, Harry and Meghan have also revealed hardships of what it was like being working royals in the royal family.
In Harry’s interview with Dax Shephard on the “Armchair Expert” podcast on May 13, 2021, he spoke candidly about his experience as being born into the royal family. He described life as a royal as a mix between “’The Truman Show,’ and being in a zoo.” Harry also revealed that he had previously thought about leaving his royal duties behind, even as early as in his 20s, before he met Meghan. He said the thought of leaving came after he was told to “grin and bear” his problems and just “get on with it.”
Recalling the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997, Harry said:
“I don’t want this job, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be doing this. Look what it did to my mom. How am I ever going to settle down and have a wife and family, when I know that it’s gonna happen again? Because I know. I’ve seen behind the curtain. I’ve seen the business model. I know how this operation runs and how it works. I don’t want to be part of this.”
Harry went on to discuss the real lack of choice one has being born into the royal family:
“The biggest issue for me was that being born into it, you inherit the risk. You inherit the risk that comes with it, you inherit every element of it without choice. I think it’s a really dangerous place to be if you don’t have a choice … Then people will, quite rightly, turn around and go, ‘So what if you didn’t have a choice? It was privilege!’”
In Harry’s interview with Dax Shephard on the “Armchair Expert” podcast on May 13, 2021, he spoke candidly about his experience as being born into the royal family. He described life as a royal as a mix between “’The Truman Show,’ and being in a zoo.” Harry also revealed that he had previously thought about leaving his royal duties behind, even as early as in his 20s, before he met Meghan. He said the thought of leaving came after he was told to “grin and bear” his problems and just “get on with it.”
Recalling the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997, Harry said:
“I don’t want this job, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be doing this. Look what it did to my mom. How am I ever going to settle down and have a wife and family, when I know that it’s gonna happen again? Because I know. I’ve seen behind the curtain. I’ve seen the business model. I know how this operation runs and how it works. I don’t want to be part of this.”
Harry went on to discuss the real lack of choice one has being born into the royal family:
“The biggest issue for me was that being born into it, you inherit the risk. You inherit the risk that comes with it, you inherit every element of it without choice. I think it’s a really dangerous place to be if you don’t have a choice … Then people will, quite rightly, turn around and go, ‘So what if you didn’t have a choice? It was privilege!’”
What do you think about Prince Harry’s candid thoughts on his life as a royal? Will you listen to the podcast yourself? Let us know your thoughts, and be sure to pass this on to others who are interested in staying updated regarding Meghan and Harry news.
