Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are currently on a brief tour of Australia. Naturally, I'm already obsessing over the Duchess of Sussex's impeccable style. But, more important than their fashion statements are the couple's engagements—several of which address an urgent issue: Mental health. In a heartfelt address at InterEdge Summit in Melbourne today, Prince Harry reflected on his own mental health journey and made a rare, emotional reference to his late mother, Princess Diana.
Prince Harry Makes Rare, Emotional Reference to His Late Mom: ‘Grief Does Not Disappear’
Grab some tissues
Published Apr 16, 2026
•3:03pm
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Prince Harry was the keynote speaker on workplace mental health; the summit focused on leadership in the workplace. Per People, the Prince gave a roughly 20-minute speech talking about his experience with mental health. For him, the defining event of his early life was the loss of his mom.
“In my experience, loss is disorienting at any age. Grief does not disappear because we ignore it. Experiencing that as a kid while in a goldfish bowl under constant surveillance, yes, that will have its challenges. And without purpose, it can break you," he said.
Prince Harry also shared how the loss of Princess Diana made him want to reject his lineage. "I don’t want this role—wherever this is headed, I don’t like it," he said. “It killed my mum and I was very much against it, and I stuck my head in the sand for years and years."
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In addition to the summit, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the youth mental health charity, Batyr, where Meghan, in conversation with some of the young attendees, talked about her own experiences with bullying.
“Every day for 10 years, I have been bullied and attacked. And I was the most trolled person in the entire world," she said. “Now, I’m still here. When I think of all of you and what you’re experiencing, I think so much of that is having to realize that you know that industry, that billion-dollar industry, that is completely anchored and predicated on cruelty to get clicks—that’s not going to change. So you have to be stronger than that."
