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‘Slipped into depression’: Prince Harry on leaving the UK and grieving for his mother

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Cite

Sawer, P. (2026, October 9). ‘Slipped into depression’: Prince Harry on leaving the UK and grieving for his mother. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/slipped-into-depression-prince-harry-on-leaving-the-uk-and-grieving-for-his-mother-20261009-p61473.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-09 · by Patrick Sawer

Quick Summary

Prince Harry revealed in a conversation with neuroscientist Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor that he experienced two weeks of depression after moving from the UK to Canada in 2019. He discussed coping with his stepdown from senior royal duties and grieving for his mother, Princess Diana, whom he felt he needed to mourn publicly for years. Harry shared details about how he managed his mental health, including therapeutic strategies like using his mother’s perfume to reconnect emotionally. This personal account is part of a MasterClass series on grief management priced between £120 ($230) and £228 annually.
Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Prince Harry revealed in a new MasterClass session on coping with grief that he "slipped into depression" for about two weeks after relocating from the UK to Canada in late 2019 with wife Meghan and their son Prince Archie. Harry, now 42, stated during his interview with neuroscientist Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor that he experienced an "adrenaline crash," feeling unable to function without stress-induced adrenaline once removed from the stressful environment of royal duties. He also discussed feeling emotionally numb for years following his mother Princess Diana's death in 1997, only later realizing she would have wanted him to be happy. Harry and Meghan moved to Montecito, California, but recently returned to the UK with their children Archie (now seven) and Lilibet (five), after six years away. The Duke of Sussex was reportedly paid around $100,000 for his MasterClass session on grief and mental health struggles.

Written for “Prince Harry Depression After Royal Exit” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Prince Harry Depression After Royal Exit
Entertainment · 8 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 21 claims Outlet record 66/100
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 22 claims Outlet record 68/100
National Post
Hedges 2 of 28 claims Outlet record 60/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 1 of 11 claims Outlet record 66/100
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 68/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 28 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different moments in Prince Harry's life regarding his grief and coping mechanisms.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different aspects of Prince Harry's public appearances and interviews; one focuses on a rule in his marriage about not being apart for more than 10 days, while the other discusses his experience with depression after leaving the UK.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
26
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 26 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
8
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5874 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Patrick Sawer
1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks and I felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline.”
The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

Canada London MasterClass Vancouver Island the United Kingdom

Subjects

Harry PERSON · 8× Canada GPE · 3× London GPE · 3× MasterClass ORG · 3× Archie PERSON · 2× Claridge’s ORG · 2× Diana PERSON · 2× Meghan PERSON · 2× Sussexes PERSON · 2× Telegraph ORG · 2×

Narrative

In the session, called Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss, he said: “Being in Canada, away from the stressful environment where presumably my body was just pumped full of adrenaline, within two or three days, I experienced this adrenaline crash, something that I’d never experienced before.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-09
🔮 “I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks and I felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline.”
2026-10-09 · The Sydney Morning Herald
‘Slipped into depression’: Prince Harry on leaving the UK and grieving for his mother · assertive framing

Claims (26 extracted, 1 hedged)

Prince Harry has revealed he experienced two weeks of depression after leaving the United Kingdom for Canada in 2019. asserted
he → reveal → 2019
The Duke of Sussex revealed for the first time how he coped with stepping down as a senior member of the royal family in a conversation with neuroscientist Dr Mary-Frances O’Connor. asserted
he → reveal → O’Connor
In the session, called Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss, he said: “Being in Canada, away from the stressful environment where presumably my body was just pumped full of adrenaline, within two or three days, I experienced this adrenaline crash, something that I’d never experienced before. asserted
I → call → that
“It was as if I needed stress in order to get the adrenaline to make my brain function because I became useless around the house. asserted
I → need → house
“I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks and I felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline.” asserted
I → slip → adrenaline
Harry also spoke about grieving for his mother, Diana, the late Princess of Wales, saying that for many years he felt he had to be sad to prove he missed her. asserted
he → speak → her
He added that he followed a rule of never being away from his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, for longer than 10 days. asserted
he → add → days
In the personal exchange released on Thursday (London time), Harry said he left the UK and moved to Canada with Meghan and Archie in 2019 to “get some space away from everything”. asserted
he → release → everything
The Sussexes stayed on Vancouver Island before the Duke and Duchess quit the working monarchy early in 2020 and eventually moved to the US. asserted
Duke → stay → US
In an about-turn, the Sussexes returned to live in the UK last month after six years in America. asserted
Sussexes → return → America
People magazine reported that MasterClass approached Harry last year about developing a segment on grief, and he filmed the program in California in the northern summer, though not at his house in Montecito. asserted
he → report → Montecito
In a video trailer posted on Instagram, Prince Harry, who was 12 when his mother was killed in a car crash in Paris, says: “I consider myself a student of grief.” asserted
myself → post → grief
He added: “I’d spent so long emotionally numb, to a large extent, because I felt disloyal and guilty for the possibility of being happy and joyful without her. asserted
I → add → her
“I felt like I had to be sad and I had to be emotionally numb in order to prove to her that I missed her.” asserted
I → feel → her
The duke explained he had forgotten his mother’s laugh, and that a therapist had suggested spraying her perfume, which helped him to “unlock everything that had been locked previously”. uncertain
that → explain → everything
“The reality is, what I discovered was actually she just wanted me to be happy,” he said. asserted
he → discover → what
The cost of a MasterClass membership ranges from £120 ($230) to £228 a year. asserted
cost → range → 228
During the classes, Harry will share his reflections on loss and what MasterClass describes as “the path he took to discovering his purpose”. asserted
he → share → purpose
In the class, Harry and O’Connor will share tactics on how to face loss of every kind, from death and divorce to illness, career change and relocation, and move through the pain towards what they describe as, hopefully, “a thriving new chapter”. asserted
they → share → chapter
The trailer for the duke’s grief counselling masterclass comes after his wife was seen enjoying afternoon tea with Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, at Claridge’s in Mayfair on Wednesday. asserted
wife → come → Wednesday
The pair first met during a virtual discussion in 2020 to mark the International Day of the Girl, during which they spoke about the systemic barriers that prevented millions of girls from accessing education. asserted
that → meet → education
The duchess’s appearance at Claridge’s was the latest since she and Harry moved back to the UK in late August. asserted
she → move → August
London’s Telegraph revealed last month that the duke was in talks to make a documentary about his mother. asserted
duke → reveal → mother
The Telegraph understands that Harry wants to mark the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death, on August 31 next year, by honouring her legacy “in the most meaningful way”. asserted
Harry → understand → way
He has approached several friends and relatives of his late mother, including her brother, the Earl Spencer, to ask whether they would take part in a documentary. asserted
they → approach → documentary
The Telegraph, London Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. asserted
what → get → world
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