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Harry Says He Knew He Wanted to Leave Royal Life in His Early Twenties

Prince Harry may have been 35-years-old when he decided to step down as a senior member of the royal family, but, as it turns out, the Duke of Sussex was thinking about the decision for more than a decade—specifically in his “early twenties.”

The ex-royal recently paid a visit to Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, where he discussed a variety of personal topics, ranging from his mental health to his time in the military service. During the chat, he revealed that he was having doubts about his royal position long before he and Meghan Markle resigned from their roles last March.

“In my early twenties, it was a case of: ‘I don't want this job, I don't want to be here, I don't want to be doing this,’” Harry said. “Look what it did to my mom, how am I ever gonna settle down, have a wife and a family when I know that it's gonna happen again? 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.”

Shepard then asked Harry if being royal felt like he was in The Truman Show, to which the duke responded,  “It's a mix between The Truman Show and being in a zoo. I think the biggest issue for me was that being born into it, you inherit the risk that comes with it…without choice.”

We had no idea this life-changing decision was in the works for so long. 

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