Prince Harry just shared something deeply personal in a new MasterClass session on grief with neuroscientist Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor. He revealed that he still speaks to a portrait of his mother, Princess Diana, one shot by Patrick Demarchelier for a December 1995 Harper’s Bazaar special issue. And every time, he asks the exact same question:“What is she thinking about what I am doing right now?”
That question carries a lot of weight when you know the history. Diana died in a Paris car crash in August 1997, when Harry was just 12 years old. Harry, now 42, described years of feeling“emotionally numb”and guilty about being happy, believing he had to stay sad to prove he missed her. He also said his PTSD traces back further than his Afghanistan tour, to stored trauma from earlier, and that joining the military at 20 was a“perfect distraction.”
What makes this resonate is how universal it is. Plenty of people talk to photos, letters, or even text threads of loved ones they’ve lost. Harry says he thinks about Diana most mornings and nights and senses her presence as“an energy”and“a sign.”Ultimately, he says he realized she would want him to be happy. Have you ever kept talking to someone you lost? Tell us what you say.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.