Prince Harry on the ‘Armchair Expert’ pod: ‘Living here now I can actually lift my head’

Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (L) and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (C) react as they arrive to visit Canada House, in London on January 7, 2020, in thanks for the warm Canadian hospitality and support they received during their recent stay

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been busy this week, announcing new partnerships and focusing on their core issues. Meanwhile, I hear that a certain keen couple is really excited about their lil’ YouTube channel. Anyway! On Mother’s Day, Meghan and Harry announced that Archewell had partnered with Procter & Gamble to make a big donation to Harvest Home, an LA charity working with homeless pregnant women. Now Archewell has launched an even bigger partnership with P&G. Archewell describes it as “a multi-year global partnership” focused on “gender equality, more inclusive online spaces, and resilience and impact through sport.” Nothing involving playing with sheep, in any case.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry has once again blind-sided the palace by appearing on a local podcast. That podcast? Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert, which is one of the most popular celebrity podcasts out there. Guests on Armchair Expert regularly make and break news, and Dax is a surprisingly good interviewer. As you can imagine, the British papers were the first to listen to the podcast and they’ve already got several blaring headlines about what Harry spoke about. Some highlights:

Harry met Meghan at a grocery store early in their relationship: Harry was asked by Dax if he had ever done “mundane things” as a royal, such as go to the supermarket. Harry responded: “The first time Meghan and I met up for her to come and stay with me, we met up in a supermarket in London, pretending we didn’t know each other, texting each other from the other side of the aisles. There’s people looking at me, giving me all these weird looks, and coming up to me and saying ‘hi’. I texted her saying “is this the right one”, and she said “no you want parchment paper”, and “I’m like where’s the parchment paper?!” I had baseball cap on, looking down at the floor, trying to stay incognito. It’s amazing how much chewing gum you see, it’s a mess!”

He feels free: “Living here now I can actually lift my head and actually I feel different, my shoulders have dropped, so has hers, you can walk around feeling a little bit more free. I can take Archie on the back of my bicycle. I never had the chance to do that.”

He’s creating his own fairytale: Harry was asked about what life was like as a royal, and how it compared to representations of princes and princesses in movies. He said: “My wife had the most amazing explanation. ‘You don’t need to be a princess, you can create the life that will be better than any princess.’ It’s something like that….We got together and she was like ‘wow, this is very different to what my friends at the beginning said it would be’.’

His mental health struggles as a kid: ‘[I was told] You need help. As a case of, not weakness but ‘I don’t know how to deal with this. You’re unhinged, you’re not very well, go and seek help.” He said it had caused him to ‘object and run away’, saying: ‘Everyone of us will try to find some way to mask the actual feeling and try to feel different than how we actually feel.’

On discussing mental health: ‘For me, unfortunately in today’s world it’s quite a sensitive subject, not just for people who are sharing, but ultimately the subject matter itself it has to be handled with care. When it ends up getting weaponised by certain people you can’t predict it. It doesn’t worry me anymore.’

On privilege & pain: He added that there were ‘certain corners of the media’ who questioned ‘if he is privileged how could he be suffering’ [People say] How bad can it be? You had people running around and doing this and that…I was born into privilege but it gave me a front row seat – my education was not in school but was in meeting people across the Commonwealth.’

[From The Sun & The Daily Mail]

There’s a lot more, but you get the idea. Harry’s not really breaking news but the usual suspects will pretend that he is and they’ll find something in his words to attack. Remember when Harry spoke about hate speech last year and they turned it into “Harry is criticizing Trump”? That’s what they’re going to do here.

Prince Harry of Belair? Prince Harry gets interviewed by James Corden on Tourist bus in Los Angeles

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, CBS, Avalon Red.

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203 Responses to “Prince Harry on the ‘Armchair Expert’ pod: ‘Living here now I can actually lift my head’”

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  1. Sigmund says:

    That’s a good line from Meghan (the princess comment). Royals are gonna be so p*ssed. 😆 Meghan and Harry are just out there living their best lives without the Royal family or their money. Good for them.

    • Becks1 says:

      That’s going to piss Kate and Carole off big time because her whole goal in life is to be a princess, she can’t imagine creating a better life, which is sad.

      • Snuffles says:

        Yeah, that’s gonna break her brain. But maybe it could be the catalyst for her to start reevaluating her life choices.

      • Mac says:

        Kate is living the life she wants and persevered for years to get. She isn’t going to re-evaluate anything.

      • Brielle says:

        @Mac I agree..Kate is happy:she is bland and has no personality so of course she blended perfectly with how the way this family function….and it’s been 10 years and 3 kids,she seems satisfied and on board.And. May I add that she never experienced racism combined with sexism,misogyny ?

      • Myjobistoprincess says:

        Kate is going to try and feel different from what she really feels but for sure Will and Kate are going to feeel like Meg is looking down on them saying that anybody can have a better life than them, that they’re actually just common regulars.

      • Merricat says:

        I would not describe Kate as “happy.” Happy people don’t need to be puffed full of peacockery on a regular basis. Happy people don’t treat other people as accessories. Happy people don’t persist in abusing family members to inflate their happiness.

      • Snuffles says:

        Just responding to everyone’s comment to mine about Kate possibly reevaluating her life choices.

        I don’t think she’s happy. I think she thought she was for a while. She nabbed the future king, had his kids, has an unlimited clothing budget. She was willing to look the other way with William’s random hook ups.

        Then Meghan came around and rocked her world. Meghan set a new standard. Was obviously better at her job and the people were wild about her. And to top it off, Harry fell madly in love with his wife and thinks she hung the moon. And, if rumors are correct, around the same time she found out her husband was banging her best friend.

        It wouldn’t surprise me if she isn’t wondering lately if it’s all worth it with the continuous fall out of her actions to drive Meghan out so she could reclaim her position in the public eyes.

      • Andrew’s Nemesis says:

        @Brielle I don’t think Kate is a happy woman. She isn’t comfortable in her own skin; she doesn’t glow with contentment, or have the aura of someone satisfied with life. Instead, she appears resigned; sometimes her expression is bitter, or taut with disapproval or resentment (at the Commonwealth service, for example). Ma Middleton, aka Mrs Bennett, groomed her daughters for one thing only: to ‘be thrown into the paths of rich men’. Kate’s whole life was an arrow-straight trajectory towards William. She started with his poster on her wall, changed universities to get closer to him, even travelled to Chile and Florence to encounter him; accepted him treating her like dirt, referring to her as ‘the mattress’, and cheating on her endlessly (I suppose no-one has forgotten his tawdry encounter with the girl on the fire escape). She overlooked his groping women and bawling ‘I’m free!!!’ after he ditched her, spent her time ‘showing him what he was missing’ during the breakup, never held down a job, and accepted that she was his sixth choice of wife. She’s made her bed, and must lie in it. All the coatdresses in the world can’t make her happy. The only bright point was when Meghan came along, because not only was she competition, but someone whom Kate could try to bully. And her deliberate failure to correct the ‘Kate krying’ narrative demonstrates how opportunistic she is.
        No sympathy here – save for her appalling mother’s machinations. I would feel more sympathy for her had she not so viciously victimised Meghan.

      • Beach Dreams says:

        @Snuffles, totally agreed with your assessment of Kate being unhappy. I’ve said it before, but it always seemed like the comforts and spoils of being the heir’s wife were enough *until* she saw how different Harry and Meghan’s relationship was from her own. You could tell it bothered Kate, based on her behavior at Eugenie’s wedding alone; she kept initiating PDA and eventually William withdrew his hand from hers. And I can’t imagine how anyone could look at Kate in 2018 vs Kate from 2019 to now and claim that she’s happy. Her entire demeanor shifted from that confident smugness post-Louis to strained anxiousness. The dwindling weight, the constant fidgeting, the numerous hints of her being stressed/exhausted (which she even said herself earlier this year)…that’s not a happy woman by any means. She’ll continue to cling to her privileges like a barnacle, but she’s definitely not content in life.

      • teecee says:

        I don’t think Kate’s happy but I’m not sure that has much to do with Megan. She’s so thin. Whenever a woman starts losing weight like that, it’s a red flag. (Look how thin Angelina got for a while.)

      • bettyrose says:

        teecee –

        Nothing about Kate’s life has changed since Meghan came on the scene, so Meghan is definitely not the reason for Kate’s dissatisfaction, but Meghan’s existence probably did make Kate aware for the first time there was another way this life doesn’t have to be trapped in the 19th century.

      • Doulton says:

        This made me feel sorry for Kate. She quite propably has a narcissist of a mother who was determined to get to be princess-by-proxy via dictating too much to her daughter. Kate was born to do this job. Did she have a choice to subsume her mother’s narcissism? I don’t think so. I think she’s trapped between two terrifying personalities–her mother and her husband. I think that her parents trampled on anything that the child Kate said. I think Carole Middleton started this plot in June of 1982. Kate and Pippa were trained and James got seriously depressed.

        It is not easy to defy a Narcissist mother.

      • Nic919 says:

        Meghan’s arrival coincided with the rose situation happening so Kate looking more miserable is more related to that than Meghan. After all Kate disappeared from view for almost two months in April 2019 and only left the house once she was given an RVO.

        It probably didn’t help that Meghan was good at the job and had skills that Kate could only dream of, but the crying story had already come out by fall 2018 so Kate was already on her way to making Meghan look bad to uplift herself.

      • Ashley says:

        Imagine how much different William might have been had he not had a wife that wasn’t obsessed with being a Disney Princess. Imagine if he had had a supportive wife who cared about his mental health instead of her endless supply of coat dresses.

        In a way it’s not exactly their fault. Had William had a pushy American for a wife he may have had a chance to work on himself. After all American love therapy and talking about everything endlessly.

        Instead he got an English girl, and no offense to the English but that is one culture who doesn’t give two figs about mental health. Having dated a narcissist with undiagnosed mental issues who was also obsessed with his English snobbery perhaps some men are above help. Having come from that dynamic of two brothers, in this case twins, one dating a pushy American (me) and one dating an English girl who was also British middle class it’s like beating a dead horse. I wish he had been more like Harry but he was obsessed with what they thought and didn’t think twice about ever standing up for me. Instead they have undiagnosed trauma from having a bipolar mother. But I was the wicked one for wanting to get him therapy and for wanting him to talk through things and self reflect.

        Some men can’t be helped. But imagine if William had a different wife. Things might have turned out different for him.

    • Tessa says:

      And during the courtship, Kate made it clear to William that she would “look the other way” if he strayed and put up with his constant breakups with her. Her whole life though depends on William and whether or not he finds someone else he prefers more than Kate and want to marry this person.

    • Brielle says:

      @Merricat I agree with your points but it seems that Kate didn’t have an active role in smearing Meghan(Meg said she was a good person) but she didn’t come in support maybe she didn’t want bad press or go against the grain…yes she was complicit…

      • GuestWho says:

        Let’s not forget that her mother had a giant role in the smearing of Meghan too…I think she’s more than just complicit.

      • notasugarhere says:

        She actively participated in the anti-Meghan press for four years, including letting the crying story keep spinning and having her mummy and uncle give anti-Meghan interviews.

      • MsIam says:

        Has she said anything about Uncle Gary and his harassing and name calling her brother in law and his wife? So yeah, complicit, no free pass for her.

      • Elsavita Williams says:

        Kate’s mother Carole Goldsmith Middleton is a friend to Katie Nicholl who works for the Daily Mail so it is very easy to figure the inside source of gossip. Carole via Kate.

      • Isabella says:

        Kate was all there with William on the Flybe stunt.

      • Isabella says:

        Kate was all there with William on the Flybe stunt.

  2. Becks1 says:

    I know what I’m listening to on my walk today! I’ve already listened to some clips on twitter and it sounds like its GOOD. I’m sure the british press is melting down lol.

    • Cecilia says:

      Of course they are. Remember how they were putting out stories a few weeks back about how harry must be miserable after the funeral because it reminded him that he had given up ROYAL life? And here he is saying he’s happier than ever. Lmao.

      • Izzy says:

        LMAO he gave up a royal life for *checks notes* his own big pile of money and the freedom to do what he wants, when he wants. Oh, and sunny weather.

        Yes, I’m sure he’s miserable. 😉

      • Elizabeth Regina says:

        Hehehehehe. Heads will be exploding right now. This interview confirms that Harry freely walked away having seen it all from the inside and realising it’s not worth it. I must say that he will be a really great life coach as he asked all the right questions, probed appropriately and didn’t take himself seriously.

    • Becks1 says:

      Okay I’m about halfway through. It’s good, much more revealing than I expected it to be. I like how he calls out the social media trolls and the reporters pretty much right off the bat.

      • Green Desert says:

        I just listened to the whole thing. It’s SO good. He’s very smart, thoughtful, and you can tell he’s done a ton of work in therapy. I haven’t listened to him talk this much and honestly I’m impressed by his intelligence.

      • Seraphina says:

        @Green Desert, I have not listened but will from what I seen written here. I think the therapy he received is what has really helped him. Now was that before or after Meghan? She seems to be a positive grounding force in his life – as a partner should be. He made a great choice because she will also provide that to their children.

      • Nic919 says:

        Hopefully you listened to the end and caught the serious shade Dax made about the so called experts when he did the recap with the co host after Harry left. The entire royal expert thing is pretty silly after all.

      • Green Desert says:

        @Seraphina – I should have included that…he makes it clear that it was Meghan who saw all of his hurt and past trauma and with her influence he realized he needed therapy. He also says therapy is what helped him realize he wanted to bring change to the institution. We know how that turned out but I think his mission is still to create positive change when it comes to things like mental health services and the media.

        @Nic919 – I listened through to the very end. Dax’s shade was spot on. And I love how much he clearly loves Harry.

      • Becks1 says:

        Ok I finished it while my kid is at track practice lol. That was good. Really really good. That was the kind of mental health talk we have needed from the royals. He was open, honest, and tied everything back into experiences we all share.

        The part about delaying the release bc of the British press was nutso, it shows how Harry is aware of their obsession with him.

        I love that he’s turning anti-royalists into big Harry fans. We have a friend like that – who hates the concept of royalty but likes Harry because he said “nah” and stepped away.

  3. Lauren says:

    The Hostage has reached a new peak of handsome since moving to California. He looks healthy, happy and seems at peace with world. He is constantly growing as a person and reaching his goals and doing more than he’s ever been able or free to do. The same can’t be said for his British family, who is quite free and not chained to their positions.

    • JT says:

      He looks so good. The photos of him from his series with Oprah had me doing a double take and others did too. I saw a tweet that said, “sorry Meg, d*ck me down Harry.” Lol.

      Jokes aside, he seems really happy and content right now. All of the work he has been doing is great and it’s just one project after another. It’s like he was just ready start a new life.

      • Becks1 says:

        It also just proves that it was never about the work. I know most of us here knew that, but there are so many people out there who think they just couldnt stand being a working royal because it was work and they couldnt hack it. Yeah their desire to work was never in doubt.

  4. Faye says:

    Love free Harry!

  5. Myra says:

    I have just listened to it and it’s a really good discussion between Dax and Harry. They talk about addiction and substance abuse, as well. Harry is really natural and it’s easy to understand where he is coming from when he explains his views on free speech and privacy. Honestly, he sounds like a really intelligent person and it just shows how you can grow and learn, without a degree.

    • Petra says:

      @Myra, I was blown away with Harry’s candor. I’ll be listening to this interview again and again. Harry is happy and he’s OK.

      • Brielle says:

        Lol…were you doubting that he was happy?

      • Myra says:

        I will listen to it again tonight when it’s quieter and honestly if Dax’ interviews are like that, I might start listening to other episodes, as well.

    • S808 says:

      Dax talking about how he had so much of what he thought he needed (adoration, material things, etc.) and still being so unhappy….phew!

      • Myra says:

        I used to dismiss him, but he is so insightful and so aware of himself and his struggles. I’m rooting for him to stay healthy now, but it does sound like he is constantly battling demons. It must be so exhausting.

    • emu says:

      I know people don’t like Dax & Kristin and their shenanegans, but I have really truly enjoyed the couple dozen Armchair Expert episodes I hear. Dax is so open and shares everything and it really puts people at ease and they share, and Dax is open and accepting. It’s truly a wonderful podcast.

      • Meime says:

        I have been listening to Armchair Expert for a long time now, and while sometimes Dax can be a bit much, or I can’t stand the guest, so I skip, it’s a truly insightful podcast that no only has awesome celebrities, but also really intelligent experts on mental health, sexual health, parenting, etc.

        Around here Dax and Kristen have a bad rep, and if you only know the from headlines I understand why, but Dax went through so much in his childhood, and Kristen has been open about her mental health struggles also. They are very flawed, and the know it, but they work really hard to be better. Dax especially owns up to so much of why he is the way he is and how he keeps learning and trying.

        This interview with Harry was definitely an Armchair History maker. Fantastic guest, fantastic discussion.

    • HeyJude says:

      He really did get all his mother’s goodness, every drop went to him. William not so much. Harry won that genetic lottery.

      (William may have the birth order precedence but what does it matter without having any humanity? He’s an empty vessel.)

    • Seraphina says:

      Harry has emotional intelligence and empathy. Those two traits together are a powerhouse for Harry to be able to connect and resonate with people.

  6. Cecilia says:

    “Blindsided the palace” LMAO its really becoming a joke now isn’t it. Anyway, i just got done listening to the podcast and i thought is was really good. Podcasts aren’t really my favorite and i struggle with long ones (which is why i was happy that the first EP of archewell audio was only 30 min). This one was very easy to listen to tho, and it was a good mix of real conversations and lighter moments.

    As for what the UK press might do, they’re probably going to pick a part what he said about parenting and his father and past trauma’s. But hey, thats the uk press for you

    • Andrew’s Nemesis says:

      Does the Palace not realise just how weak they sound when they’re constantly claiming they’ve been ‘blindsided’? How unprofessional? Ineffectual?

      • Merricat says:

        Lol. It does seem like the palace is operating under a stupor.

      • Nina says:

        This is no longer your grandmother’s world (QE II) when the narrative was controlled by a few powerful news outlets. Anyone with an internet connection can now have a megaphone. Welcome to International Speakers Corner, otherwise known as the Internet.

    • lanne says:

      The palace has basically pulled an Oedipus and blinded themselves at this point. The three palaces could be called the Three Blind Mice–that’s what they are in terms of the Sussex’s plans

  7. Eurydice says:

    Some of the headlines about the P&G partnership were funny – Meghan partners with corporation she accused of sexism 28 years ago!

    Can’t wait to listen to this podcast – love the part where Harry says he can finally lift his head.

    • Izzy says:

      And that corporation… listened to her. LOL those rats really have to reach for anything, don’t they?

    • equality says:

      A lot of the BM are attacking P&G for various claims. They seem to have overlooked the fact that P&G holds a royal warrant given by PC.

    • Gail Hirst says:

      And funnier still that Proctor & Gamble have a royal warrant, so they have to be careful about how far they can go to disrespect the deal LOL

  8. Snuffles says:

    The whole podcast is fantastic. It confirmed and validated just about everything we’ve been saying. And he also mentioned The Truman Show!! I just mentioned that recently that Harry’s like must have felt like that growing up. It’s available for free right now on YouTube if you want to check it out.

    • Ann says:

      Yes, totally! Truman was basically manipulated into marrying the actress playing the one who was supposed to be his wife, thinking it was “his choice” when he had met someone else, like an extra who was not supposed to be a factor….and that actress was fired because she and Truman had a real connection. Very apt.

  9. Monica says:

    This podcast episode is making my day.

    • L84Tea says:

      I’m listening at this moment and it is FANTASTIC. Harry is such an intelligent person.

      • Virginia says:

        I was on my way home from work listening to the radio when they started talking about the podcast, all the comments were “leave Harry alone! He is happy, we love him and Meghan!” I was smiling and happy myself!

      • Thirtynine says:

        L84tea, that’s my big takeaway from this, too. Harry really just let us see him as he is, and that is this incredibly intelligent, articulate, insightful man. We all know how dazzled Harry is by Meghan, but I could really see how she must have been dazzled by him too. A man like that needs no titles or palaces to make him captivating.

  10. Sofia says:

    I truly don’t care for Dax but I’ve been reading tweets on what’s being said and I got to say that I am really liking what Harry’s saying. He’s being open about his mental health and there’s some good tidbits against the media that I did chuckle at.

  11. Over it says:

    I am so happy he has found his happy ever after. As for the him being unhinged part, bet it was Baldimort trying to project his own issues so he could continue to control Harry

    • Amy Bee says:

      @Overit: Yeah, it was probably William telling Harry that was unhinged, which makes his performative advocacy for mental health look even worse.

    • Snuffles says:

      Oh, you’re RIGHT!! I recall William claiming that he was the one who got Harry into therapy. But now we know he did it flippantly as a way to push off Harry’s issues and concerns as not his problem to deal with. Not that I’m saying that it was William’s responsibility but if he truly cared about Harry’s healing he wouldn’t have done all the stuff he did using Harry as his human shield and throwing Meghan under the bus to protect his own image.

      • Tessa says:

        I remember how Diana was gaslighted. william it seems to me has been doing this to Harry for years. William if he had any sensitivity would not blab that “HE” was the one who got Harry to get therapy. In a way it sounds like he’s “boasting” about how great he is. William has his own issues.

  12. Noki says:

    Meghan was probably more shocked at how backwards these people still are as opposed to some fairy tale. i always wonder if it does actually annoy Kate that she is not styled Princess(even though Duchess is a higher rank..correct?). I do recall William wrote Princess on one of the kids birth certificates.

    • Sofia says:

      She is Princess William but it’s the lower title so it’s not used. On the kids’ birth certificate, her job was written as “Princess of the United Kingdom” so that’s where you’re getting that from.

  13. Amy Bee says:

    The press is going to say that he disrespected the Queen because he was critical royal life. I just like that Harry feels free now, that he’s not afraid to speak his mind and to do what’s best for him and what feels right.

  14. Plums says:

    I listened to the podcast this morning. It was good! One part that really interested me was when they were talking about media and Dax mentioned the 1st Amendment, and Harry immediately pounced on it like he wanted to start ranting, but stopped himself and started with the disclaimers like, “i’m new here and don’t know much about it, so I’m not gonna start ranting” but you got the distinct impression he was holding himself back and has the huge rant about the 1st Amendment bottled up that he goes on about in private to friends, and it’s probably hilarious. Like, as Americans we’re so used to lies and incitement and blatant propaganda disguised as news, and oh well what can you do about it? it’s the 1st Amendment. But he’s probably had such a culture shock of “THEY CAN SAY WHAT NOW??? And it’s LEGAL!???!!!” Rant about the 1st Amendment, Harry! I wanna know, lol!

    • Legalese says:

      I strongly disagree. It’s pretty clear that he thinks the American media is generally more fair than the UK media. That’s his whole shtick. At the end of the podcast, Dax and Monica even talk about how they released the episode later than usual because his people wanted American outlets to be able to cover it before the UK media went crazy.

      I definitely think he feels strongly about the First Amendment because of his concerns about privacy, but no way did he have some sort of shock when he moved to the US. That’s literally why he left.

  15. Wiglet Watcher says:

    What a love story these 2 have.

    • Brielle says:

      Lol exactly…the supermarket meeting story was so great and once again Omid lied in Finding freedom when he said that Megan went to Nottingham cottage alone on the third date…once again that proves that Finding Freedom were made without their involvement

      • Amy Bee says:

        @Brielle: Finding Freedom was based on tabloid stories and where possible he was able to get people to clear up some of them.

      • Legalese says:

        Nothing in Finding Freedom was disproven by his statement. I’m pretty sure he was talking about the first time Meghan flew to the UK to visit him, that is after they had started dating. The three dates mentioned in Finding Freedom were the week they first met.

      • Becks1 says:

        Harry himself said in the Corden interview that one of their first dates was at Nott Cott alone, he talked about how dating a royal is like dating in reverse, you start out in privacy at home and then venture into the outside world.

    • Brielle says:

      But I thought they met at Soho housse the two first times and the third time at Nott Cott?

  16. lanne says:

    It’s funny to sit back and imagine the tabloids exploding. Think of all of the money that the tabloids are missing out on. All the rota ratchets who aren’t getting scoops. This is their life now: whining after the fact because they are forever excluded from all things Sussex.

    They can choke on the dust left in their wake.

  17. NotSoSimpleTaylor says:

    I think Angela Levin is going to be mistaken for having a seizure (no offense to anyone with epilepsy, it is a serious condition but Angela froths and gets angry so much these days I can see her movements being mistaken).

    Harry was born into immense privilege and it’s folly to believe he’ll shed his privilege the way a snake can shed skin. However, I think the important thing is that he isn’t hoarding money and he genuinely wants to use his privilege for good.

    I’m listening to this as we speak but given what Harry has told us, I can see why Charles and William hate Meghan. Before she came along, Harry was miserably performing all the royal duties not realizing there could be a different path for him. He was just going along accepting his lot in life. Meghan came along with her American optimism and really upset the apple cart.

    But it does go to show you just how psychologically damaging it is to be in that family. My goodness.

    • Brielle says:

      And what’s crazy is that he admitted that meeting Meghan is what made him go to therapy…but on his first podcast in 2017,he said it was William so why did he need to say that?to embiggen him?
      And also remember when Cressida or sources close to Cressida told Robert Lacey that Harry was self obsessed by press and damaged…

      • equality says:

        Don’t know how much weight anybody should give to Cressida. If you thought somebody was so damaged would you date him for years without, at least, encouraging help? She should keep quiet so it doesn’t sound like sour grapes.

      • Brielle says:

        Exactly…this is crazy,her sources told Lacey that she thought Harry was damaged and she never told him to get help or anything but just thought he was self obsessed with the press but he was right to be: all his indiscretions were on the tabloid..

      • NotSoSimpleTaylor says:

        I’m sure William at first thought it was a good idea and agreed, with the idea that it would make Harry more compliant but I think that’s as far as it goes.

        I say this as someone who has had a standing bimonthly therapy appointment for 12 years. Harry went for himself. He can credit his brother, Meghan or whomever but he truly went for himself. Someone may push us through the door but he keeps going back and that tells me it’s for him.

      • ABritGuest says:

        Think he said Meghan was the one that made him realise he should go to therapy which has been reported for a while. May be that he discussed the idea with William & William was the one who urged him to actually book a therapist- which Harry has credited him with. I don’t think it’s incompatible they were both involved. Of course William’s input could have been hyped due to the launch of Heads Together but I can see it being true.

      • Tessa says:

        I don’t think Harry really was interested in Cressida. I think she would have married him if he had proposed. It was obvious. She would give “loving looks” to him and he’d look straight ahead. And also it’s interesting how Seward in an open letter urged Harry to “take Cressida back.” So to me it sounds like it was Harry’s call not Cressida’s to end the relationship.

      • Beach Dreams says:

        Harry’s always been made to praise and/or include William, so it wouldn’t surprise me if that comment was yet another instance of him being pushed to “support” his brother.

        @Tessa, it was definitely Harry’s call. Seward wouldn’t have written that embarrassing letter and Cressida wouldn’t have pulled a post-breakup Kate (dressing up and getting papped going out to show Harry what he was “missing”) if it were the other way around.

      • A says:

        I think that it was likely William as well. I don’t think that Harry would lie about that to embiggen his brother. I think William was saying it from a place of, “You’re damaged and I’m not and so I am qualified to give you life advice now.”

      • nutella toast says:

        You can start and stop therapy numerous times for numerous reasons – sometimes taking a “pause” and re-approaching it when you’re ready is actually healthy. Could be that Cressida and William had something to do with “sending” him to therapy, but maybe Meg gave him the space to WANT to be there which is an entirely different thing – when you choose to be there because you can imagine a better, healthier life, it makes all the difference as opposed to being shamed into it.

    • Elizabeth Kerri Mahon says:

      Angela Levin is already quoted in the Daily Fail Online complaining about Prince Harry and his 16 bathrooms. They are really obsessed that he and Meghan aren’t living in a one-bedroom apartment off Hollywood Boulevard.

      • lanne says:

        nah, they need to be living on the streets to prove that “they are nothing without the RF.” There was even a political cartoon of them homeless and a palace guard recognizing them shivering and starving outside the palace gates. The Sussexes needed to SUFFER and BE PUNISHED. The fact that they are thriving burns those crazies up.

      • Tessa says:

        And Andrew has 50 bedrooms and lives on an estate with a chapel. No outrage over that.

      • Brielle says:

        50 bedrooms and a chapel?? Wtf?

      • equality says:

        Meanwhile, BP has 78 bathrooms. If you take a tour, however, you have to hold it until outside and use portables in the gardens.

      • SenseOfTheAbsurd says:

        Every British resident and taxpayer ought to be entitled by law to go into Buckingham Palace to use the loo. It would only be fair.

      • nutella toast says:

        @Elizabeth Kerri Mahon Bahahaha….they literally want H&M to be Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman “What’s your dream?” and Harry rescues the Princess and she rescues him right back. I guess that would even be too much if they ended up happy. LOL

  18. S808 says:

    I really liked what he said about the UK press. It did get bad and it did get bad quickly but there is a sense of liberation in that I think. Things hit rock bottom and after that there was nowhere to go but up. They threw everything AND the kitchen sink at him and Meghan. It didn’t get much worse than that so I definitely get reaching the point of not giving a f*ck and pushing on. And because things went so bad so quick it made moving on that much quicker cause the press has nothing to lord over them.

    • Becks1 says:

      Honestly, that was a big mistake the press made (big mistake in terms of cutting off their nose to spite their face). They went all in almost immediately and so after a year or two it was like, what else can you do? what else can you write about me? You’ve accused me of trying to kill princess charlotte with my wedding flowers, you’ve accused me of causing drought and famine, associating with terrorists, wearing dark nail polish, breaking protocol by breathing – so why do I need you?

      Had the press been more gradual and more subtle about their hate campaign, it might have taken longer for H&M to reach their “IDGAF anymore, we’re out of here” point and they might still be in the UK.

      • Chica says:

        @Becks bc they were doing the royal family’s bidding. Everyone could enjoy Meghan’s media demise on all sides, w/out acknowledging how it would effect their prince. They never foresaw Harry choosing Meghan over their gilded cage and leaving. They all expected her to leave him. Jokes on them. If the press had any sense they absolutely should take their revenge and frustration out on the dull dishwater left behinds in KP and Windsor. Their scandals are what would help them make money. But only time will tell when that’ll happen

      • Sid says:

        Yup. The British press played themselves right out of at least a decade of good money. I doubt that whatever they’re making now with the attack stories is more than they would have made if they had kept it marginally cute and the Sussexes had stayed as working royals. Look at Samir Hussein’s photo of them in the rain. I bet he made a mint on top of the awards he got. Look at how open Scobie is now in calling out the other RRs, probably because the FF book money has him sitting very comfortably. Cutting off their nose to spite their face describes the BM perfectly.

      • Beach Dreams says:

        Yeah, I think it would’ve been a LOT more difficult for Harry and Meghan to leave if the BRF and the BM had played their smear campaign smartly and done a more gradual, subtle rollout. For all we know, the heightened attention/hysteria surrounding Meghan might’ve settled down after a few years like it does for any new royal bride. It would’ve been the common sense conclusion but we know that the palace and media are rather short on critical thinking skills. Racism, arrogance, and the comfort of knowing their sordid tactics can go unchecked (especially the BM on that last point) led them to this point.

    • Cecilia says:

      Like he said “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”. It was definitely up to that point with the sussexes. Everything they did got blasted and criticized. At some point you have no choice but to stop caring, or it will be the end of you. It encouraged them to confront the bullies head on and liberated them in the end. They are now just moving along with their live, while the UK press is still sulking

    • Myra says:

      The BM did so much and too much in such a short period of time, that it actually emboldened their victims to stand up against them. They now have a superpower against the media, ironically created by the media. Like what more can you do to me that you haven’t already done before. They’ve now been given the permission to live their life as they choose to because the media would be upset either way.

      • Brielle says:

        Yes and I liked the girl said you confronted your abuser and it was so true: the tabloid press is an abuser to the royal family..

    • tolly says:

      I think her pregnancy drove them all off the deep end. Maybe they (tabloids, courtiers, royal family) thought they would have a few years to chase her away more subtly, but the prospect of a biracial prince just broke their brains.

      • Brielle says:

        Lol yup

      • lanne says:

        And now the 8th in line to the throne’s about to be born! 2 biracial kids pushing Pedo Andy down to 9th. Harry is still in the line of succession–being a non-working royal doesn’t remove him. Heck, the line of succession runs to hundreds of people.

      • Beach Dreams says:

        Absolutely. Remember that even before the wedding, there were articles and comments about how difficult it would be for Meghan to get pregnant at her “advanced” age…as if a woman who’s only 5 months younger than her hadn’t just given birth at the time. That commentary increased after the wedding and they seemed so certain and hopeful that she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant. And eventually we learned that the family/palace was unpleasantly surprised when Meghan became pregnant and thought it was “too quick”. They clearly wanted to destroy the marriage before any children were born.

  19. ThatgirlThere says:

    Ahhhh. The grocery store story is so darling! They just love and enjoy each other and it makes me so happy for them that they had those moments of “mundane” sweetness. To many, many more years of true healthy, joy and love.

  20. Angie says:

    He’s definitely a smart guy. Very interesting.

    • Brielle says:

      Yes he is..I always heard that he was dumb.Even when he was marrying Meghan,I was like Meghan you are so smart,why do you want marry that dude and his inbred family and that baggage?

      • lanne says:

        He was dyslexic and untreated, not dumb. William’s the one who’s dumb–practically failed out of St Andrews. Harry’s learning disabilites were presented as stupidity because it made William look better. That’s the toxicity of the RF–elevating 1 child over another based on birth order alone. Harry accomplished more than William ever did. In days past, a smarter and more talented second sibling would have been sent off to fight in foreign wars, where he hopefully would die, but at least be out of the way of the eldest for long periods of time.

      • Tessa says:

        Diana would have seen to it that the dyslexia was treated had she lived. CHarles paid the most attention to the heir and his protection.

      • NotSoSimpleTaylor says:

        I will continue to repeat this until it happens – and I truly believe it will and I do think Harry knows it can. Harry’s learning disabilities are more blessing than curse because he had to learn and absorb the world at a disadvantage. He’s quite smart.

        Harry and Oprah are very similar. They have similar charisma, similar drive and have overcome a lot of adversity that no one should ever have to face. They also learn kinsthetically. Oprah was a journalist but she learned to be an actor on the fly. Harry has proven he can also learn anything on the fly. So in conclusion, give this man a talk show!!

      • Brielle says:

        My son who is 7 was diagnosed with dyslexia ,how can Diana could not have seen that at his age?she died when he was eleven…

      • Brielle says:

        @Ianne I don’t know if William is dumb or if he was enabled like you will be futur king and you don’t need to know everything like his grandmother(everybody knows that she is not well read but she became queen and tada everybody love her and she is iconic)
        @NotSoSimpleTaylor yes he learned with life but apparently he was miserable at boarding school and called the dumbest at school

      • Tessa says:

        Harry was 12 when Diana died. I understand Diana wanted Harry to go to a school other than Eton and she was over ruled, apparently.

      • lanne says:

        @Brielle, was your child born in the 1980s like Harry? In the US, lots of kids with dyslexia weren’t diagnosed. Also, those posh private schools likely didn’t even have LD services–they were just warehouses for rich kids who had hereditary position. Lots of kids in the 80s and 90s with LDs in the US (and I’m assuming it’s true for the UK too) were just considered “stupid.” Or, it was thought they would “grow out of it.”

        By the time of his mother’s death, Harry would have been at boarding school, so she wasn’t likely seeing his academic progress on a regular basis. Superficial interaction with teachers, and she was a poor student herself, so probably just figured he took after her. I wonder if she had LDs–processing disorders, or dyslexia, or other challenges. She was a terrible student but she clearly wasn’t stupid. No one likely bothered much about her education anyway because she was expected to marry well. And Harry was just “the spare.”

      • Brielle says:

        @Tessa ah ok I see,she probably sensed it

      • Brielle says:

        @Ianne no my son was born in 2014 so you’re right we made ‘progress’ in that sense…but I thought with all their privileges and access to care,they could have diagnosed it sooner but I was clearly wrong

      • notasugarhere says:

        There has never been an official admittance of Harry having dyslexia, BTW. Talk is it wasn’t discovered until his last year at Eton at any rate. Beatrice’s was found much earlier and she’s spoken of it publicly.

  21. Andrew’s Nemesis says:

    I’m so very happy that he is now happy. He has grown into such a thoughtful, humble and decent man.

  22. Mina_Esq says:

    Oh boy, here come the “but they said they wanted privacy” comments from all the jelly Karens in the UK. I’m so happy for Harry. He sounds happy and relaxed. He wanted a true partner in life, and it sounds like he got exactly that. Meghan is a professional, modern woman, with a big heart and a work ethic to put her platform to good use. She is the fun upper-middle class woman William wanted but instead got a new-money gauche social climber with no goals and ambitions beyond being called the Future Queen. Handsome Harry wins.

    • S808 says:

      William desperately needs therapy to me. When Dax was talking about his addiction and how it was so bad because he thought adoration and material things were what he needed but wasn’t….my mind immediately went to William. Both he and Harry have so much trauma and by all accounts Harry is working on his. Harry talked about being so angry and his blood boiling. Again, I thought about all the articles we see about William and the one common denominator is his rage.

      • Beach Dreams says:

        It’s ridiculous that he’s insistent on positioning himself as a mental health champion when he clearly needs to do some work for himself. And frankly, I doubt he’s done much, if any at all. The past 4-5 years would not have played out like this if he was truly dealing with his rage and whatever other issues he has. Despite all his claims of finally being ready to be king, it’s obvious that was only in response to the popularity of his brother and SIL. He has all the privileges and comforts in the world, but he’s clearly still bitter about his lot in life. He’s clearly unhappy about his marriage. And as long as he keeps chasing after Harry and Meghan in this one-sided competition, he will continue to be unhappy.

  23. Chelsea says:

    One the most interesting revelations was after Harry left when Dax and Monica revealed that the Sussexes’ team asked them to delay the time they pushed the podcast out because they knew the UK press would go insane so they wanted the US press to get an opportunity to cover it at the same time. They also warned them about the imminent hate storm from the UK press which they also did for the Teenage Therapy podcast kids. Harry and Meghan at this point are very aware that everything they do and don’t do will be made into a controversy on that island and it was interesting to hear Harry talk about how that actually set him free. He knows they’ll be mad no matter what he does so he’s gonna do whatever the hell he wants to.

    Harry’s privilege still seeps through even though he’s made a lot of progress but he did make some good points as well. The biggest takeway for me was when Harry talked about how sometimes your trauma can give you more adrenaline and push you do to more and you can confuse it with a good thing. It clicked for Dax as well and really hit home for me. After losing my mom i let that grief push me harder in my work so i wouldn’t have to deal with it because it was too much. My career is in a great place now because of that but when you come off of that it leaves you burnt out and only delays the inevitable and makes dealing with the hurt and grief more painful. I hope someone else can hear this and understand that you can’t put off dealing with your pain; it will only make it worse.

    • Andrew’s Nemesis says:

      @Chelsea There was a beautiful article I saw in the Guardian on post-traumatic growth, which really resonated with me – both on a personal level, as I’ve had horrific experiences of violence and cruelty in my own life; and made me think of Harry. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/may/11/post-traumatic-growth-the-woman-who-learned-to-live-a-profoundly-good-life-after-loss

    • Willow says:

      I know what you mean. You deal with trauma when you are ready to or are forced to. But the longer you push that healing off, the more you are damaged, without realizing it. So heal as soon as you are ready, but forgive yourself if you had to wait.

    • dawnchild says:

      Co-sign this comment. Putting off dealing with trauma/grief will not make it go away. It’ll probably create coping mechanisms that may need addressing as well. Learned through hard experience. However, sometimes I think we put off coping with trauma till we are in a safe place from which to address it which is legitimate.

  24. lanne says:

    The British media, mainstream and tabloid, did everything they could to get rid of Meghan. The Royal family did everything they could to get rid of Meghan, to the point that they poisoned their own global brand. Was it worth it? Is Brand Royal in a better place now? We all know the answer to that–the Royal family goes from weakness to weakness–scandals, the Maxwell trial this summer. The Cambridge message seems to be “We’re gonna be King and Queen when folks die! We can’t wait!” Not exactly brilliant.

    Even Dan Wootton keeps talking about Harry and Meghan “tarnishing the royal brand”–he just tweeted that about the Prctor and Gamble partnership. This tells me that the tabloids and RF still desperately want to think of Harry and Meghan as working royals, and want to hold them to the standards of working royals. Someone needs to send them all a memo–they told the Sussexes to leave if they didn’t like how things were done, and they left. They don’t get to have a say in the Sussexes life in any way. Clinging to the Sussexes makes them look insane, and that tabloid insanity is already starting to taint the royal family. The RF held captive by the tabloids keeps them tied to right wing politics (MAGA politics in the US, where the Queen had to issue a cease and desist to a bus driving around FL with a picture of the Queen in a MAGA hat). It’s exactly what they deserve, and exactly what they earned through their own actions. But is it good for Brand Royal? Unlikely.

    • Persephone says:

      As usual, excellent and thoughtful questions, @LANNE.

    • Liz version 700 says:

      Lanne I could not agree more. Everything you said is so on point

    • L4frimaire says:

      This is so true. The UK press still act like the Sussexes are working royals on the public payroll, as though what they do is the same as what the senior royals do. They really can’t adjust to the Sussexes new life in the USA, or the fact that try don’t care what they write because they’ve poisoned te well already. At this point, the royals need to lean into state dinners and pomp and circumstances, because that is the one thing that is singularly theirs.

    • Christine says:

      100%, all of it.

  25. Talie says:

    I’m glad he brought up The Truman Show – he reminds me a lot of that character. Especially the end. Walking through the door, entering the real world.

  26. molly says:

    My favorite part was when Harry offered his head for Dax’s Sexy Friends Calendar. “It’s bald and ginger, but you can have the top of my head.” HA!
    William would NEVER.

  27. booboocita says:

    I’m wondering now about the futures of Charlotte and Louis. Harry is building — unintentionally, but still — a model for their own exits, should George decide to make their lives tabloid fodder to distract from his own peccadilloes in the manner William used Harry. Harry has Meghan to help him, but otherwise, he’s sui generis. Zara, Sarah Chatto, and others have built successful lives as non-working royals, but none of them were as close to the throne as Harry. I don’t know if Charlotte or Louis will seek out Uncle Harry and Aunt Meghan for guidance in the future, but I hope they will.

    • JT says:

      Unfortunately, I believe that Charlotte and Louis will be more controlled than ever. There are already plans for them to be working royals, despite the slimming down Charles has going on. I don’t think they will be allowed to breathe and they won’t be allowed any independence. Part of the reason why Harry is so successful at being away from them is because of his time in the army. He had a decade of being outside of the bubble, separating himself from the machine. He learned how to be leader, strategy, and most importantly, how to be his own man. Charlotte and Louis will not be given that opportunity. They’ll be hamstrung occasion and will be controlled. I’m hoping this isn’t the case, but this is the firm. Undoubtedly, the will be poisoned against their Uncle Harry and what he did.

      • Tessa says:

        I notice this already. There was an article about William, Kate and the children in a magazine. George has this interest in Science and the galaxy and Charlotte likes horseback riding and ballet. And Louis likes to tell jokes. It really shows that the images of the three are already being set. Charlotte had indicated an interest in science during the time Attenborough visited. I also feel sorry for Charlotte since William seems like a controlling father and might not “allow her” to marry her choice.

      • Brielle says:

        Maybe Louis and Charlotte will go in the army like their father and their uncle?

      • Bren says:

        Agreed, and it’s a shame that Harry carving out a new role for a spare that will never touch the throne because he has been demonized and labeled a traitor. Charlotte and Louis will never be given an opportunity to gain any kind of independence for fear of them breaking out like Harry did. I suspect the brainwashing and control of those two children will be taken to the next level of insane.

      • lanne says:

        That’s my fear for those children as well. In Russia, both Alexander 3 and Nicholas 2 had a tutor with a long name I can’t possibly begin to spell (apparently this guy was Tolstoy’s model for Anna’s pompous husband Karenin). He was a huge reactionary and anti-semite, and he claimed that “Russia needed to be kept in a frozen state. The slightest breath of wind will cause the whole thing to rot.” In other words, keep the absolute monarchy, allow no participation by the people in the government, “L’etat, c’est moi” for ever.

        This is what I think of when I consider the future of the Cambridge kids. I fear that they will not be allowed a breath of freedom. They will have only the friends, hobbies, experiences that keep the RF exactly as it is. They won’t be allowed to imagine life in any other way. Their parents might even lie to themselves and say that this is for their “protection,” but the gilded jail cell, not cage, is the only way they can keep the British monarchy in the frozen state they so seem to desire.

        The problem is that it will be difficult to keep the outside world from seeping in. Even if the kids only have aristo friends and attend aristo schools and have horsy hobbies, there’s still the internet and social media, and who knows what kind of connectivity will be available in 10 years time?

        They can’t do the “introduce the kids to normal” thing that Diana did. Those kids will have to stay hidden behind palace walls. God knows what they’ve been told about Harry and Meghan and their cousins. But kids listen, and they take in way more than adults realize they do. I hope, for their sake, that when it’s time for the tabloids to pit them against each other, that those kids can support each other and be united with easch other. That’s their best hope for building fulfilling and independent lives on their own terms, instead of dancing on royal puppet strings.

      • Sid says:

        It’s getting harder and harder to hide things from children thanks to how pervasive and accessible media, especially social media, is. There will be some point in the future where the Cambridge kids will be able to see how their American cousins are living. The question is whether the BRF will have indoctrinated them to the point where they turn their noses up, or if they look and start to question some of the things expected of them. I hope it’s the latter.

    • notasugarhere says:

      Harry has set the precendent that only George will be a working royal, with all younger W&K required to work for a living.

    • Beach Dreams says:

      Eh…talk of “Charlotte and Louis might connect with the Sussexes when they’re older” is extremely unrealistic IMO. To be clear I’m NOT singling you out; I’ve been seeing this kind of discussion a lot in recent months and it honestly baffles me. I just think that people need to realize how many awful things these kids are/will be hearing about their uncle’s family. Their parents clearly hate Meghan. Like…we already have a general consensus that William likely made the comments about Archie’s skin tone. Just imagine what else he’s said about Meghan. Those kids are going to be exposed to all that hatred in one form or another, and I don’t think they’re going to grow up wanting to connect to their cousins or their uncle and aunt.

      • Becks1 says:

        I think Harry is going to be talked about like the Duke of Windsor within the family, at least the Cambridge family. He’s going to be seen as someone who abandoned his family and his duties, who put so much pressure on poor William and Kate, they had to take on duties they just never expected (omg work!), Harry’s the reason Kate missed Charlotte’s ballet recital, etc. Just like how the QM blamed the abdication for her husband’s death, and just like the abdication meant the Queen will never ever abdicate or step down. Charlotte and Louis are going to see him as a pariah.

        What I do think will be interesting will be how they see their cousins – even if there is minimal contact, I’m assuming the Montecito royals are going to live fabulous lives and there will be some coverage of it, especially as they get older. They’re going to see pictures of Archie and Poppy/Lillibet/Allegra hanging out with children of other celebs, or going to Oprah’s birthday party, or surfing after school lets out, and I think that all the “Uncle Harry is bad” talk in the world isn’t going to stamp out the envy. Yes the Cambridge kids are going to have very privileged lives as well, and there will be fabulous vacations etc, but without the freedom the Sussex kids will have. And I do think that will seep in on some level.

      • teecee says:

        Exactly. And while we can all think of examples in our personal experience of people with racist parents who grew up to be anti-racists (or at least aware of their own biases and trying to do better), most often, racists raise racists.

        People keep talking about what a good influence Harry and Megan would be on the Cambridge kids but this distance might be in the best interests for the Sussex kids.

      • what's inside says:

        The Duke of Windsor comparisons are being fronted in the tabloids, but Prince Harry is on a much different path. Time tells everything and in the long run living your best life is all anyone should aspire to.

  28. Chelsea says:

    Also: i had NO idea about Dax’s backstory. I remember seeing he headlines about him having an addiction but didn’t know about the violent horrific environment he was in as a child or that he was molested. It takes a lot of courage to speak about that especially in the way that he did and i was really impressed with his interviewing. Was also impressed with the questions Harry asked. You can tell that Harry has really put in the time not just in reading and talking with experts, which you can tell by the language he uses and the work he quotes, but also in doing the work on himself.

    The way he speaks about his own mental health and position has changed over the years as has the way he speaks about others experiences and the way he demonstrates his empathy even for the people who troll and attack him. You dont get to that place over night. It takes a lot of work.

  29. Anna says:

    I’m listening to the podcast and I wish Dan would stop interrupting and let Harry speak.

  30. Midge says:

    It’s interesting to read a story here first and then to go to the DM and see how they present the same information. One thing that is striking is how many times in a single article they mention the “$14 million home in CA”. How do readers not see the irony? Harry and Meghan paid for that house. There’s never mention of the price tag of the the Kensington palace apartments or any of the country estates that are paid for by the British people.

  31. Abena Asantewaa says:

    Harry was so intelligent in his delivery, eloquent, humourous and thoughtful. I really enjoyed listening to him. The tidbits about the supermarket rendezvous was a gem. Harry is not going back to royal life, he sounds like he is completely happy with his family in Montecito.

  32. mariahlee says:

    harry is great but every time he gets moments like this to express himself and just be, im reminded that we never get the same from meghan. and i know the unfortunate reason why, i just miss her pre-royal voice/presence. i hope she gets the space to share herself with the public again, free from undeserved backlash.

    • notasugarhere says:

      She’ll never NOT receive backlash, just as Harry is receiving backlash for this. Unrealistic to think otherwise. You’re a public figure, you speak, you will be praised or criticised.

      • molly says:

        I feel like, from the U.S. and in service of her charity, she’ll be back speaking her voice once again. She would have never, ever been able to as a working member of the RF, but once she’s settled with the new baby and with Archewell rolling, she’ll be back.

      • mariahlee says:

        key word is undeserved

      • notasugarhere says:

        Again, she’ll receive backlash – deserved or undeserved – no matter what she does. Seems like an unrealistic wish to think otherwise.

      • ennie says:

        She’s getting blamed, of course he is being “manipulated” by her (MASSIVE EYEROLL). even the click hungry sees in my language repeat that nonsense, but I like to politely educate with evidences the closest friends or family who dare comment against the Sussexes to me.

    • NotSoSimpleTaylor says:

      We hear from Harry because he’s put in the work to break free and overcome the trauma. Can you imagine being Meghan? You have a voice then you join that horrid family and they take it away. Now you have a voice but your horrid in-laws use every weapon at their disposal to silence you. Can you imagine how traumatizing the last few years for Meghan have been? She’ll speak up when she’s ready and finds her voice again.

      • Carmen-JamRock says:

        @NotSoSimpleTaylor
        You hvnt been paying attention. Meghan’s most recent public speaking was just last Sunday at VaxLive! She definitely has her voice back. She was phenomenal.
        In fact, she spoke to this issue of her “silenced” voice in the Oprah intvw when she referenced The Little Mermaid (who, btw got her voice back in the end) and when she mentioned the things that were “already lost” or that she “nearly lost.” She said she lost her baby, her dad, and she nearly lost her name.

        But yeah. M’s voice is definitely back and she’s been doing a lot of talking and we can see the results with all the things theyve done just in the month of May so far. (see: archewellDOTcom)

      • NotSoSimpleTaylor says:

        I pay attention just fine Carmen. That was a pre-taped segment. She is laying low in Montecito and not out and about like Harry. She seems a little more lost and seems more difficult finding her way back than Harry but it could be her pregnancy. Either way, she is doing fine but you can tell that family did a number on her and she’s still healing.

      • L4frimaire says:

        I get what Notsosimpletaylor is saying. It definitely seems that Harry is being more visible and vocal. Part of that is deliberate so he can establish his own voice and presence because we get the constant manipulated hostage nonsense. But I agree, I think Meghan is more bruised and traumatized by those two years of Royal life, and it was so vicious toward her. Maybe she is genuinely nesting, but she did say a lot during the Oprah interview and maybe doesn’t want to go over this again. She has stuff in the pipeline and hoping we’ll hear more from her soon.

      • Christine says:

        You guys, she’s pregnant during Covid. I am certain she is not whimpering at home, bemoaning the fact that she can’t go out in public. She’s probably like the rest of us, glad she doesn’t have to shave her legs while pregnant, and happy that there is literally no reason she needs to leave home.

    • Kkat says:

      Harry is taking the hits for them both by going first.
      Eventually it will get to a point where people will be used to him speaking and it won’t be as big a novelty when she does.
      Probably after the baby and she has time to settle with that change, she will start speaking more

      • Becks1 says:

        I think this is a big part of it. Harry knows that he and Meghan can say the same thing, and she’ll get the blame/be criticized for it more than him. How many times has he said that it was his choice to get his family the hell out of that country, and she’s still blamed for it and he’s called a “hostage”? He’s going first so he can set the narrative in many ways, IMO.

        I also think that Meghan is recovering from the trauma of the past few years, AND Just wants to enjoy her pregnancy. I think we’re going to be hearing plenty from her in the years to come.

    • Beach Dreams says:

      Yeah, I think Meghan’s laying low to protect herself and enjoy this pregnancy (the way she was prevented from doing so when she was pregnant with Archie). Besides the issue of backlash (which Harry does share, albeit less than her as a royal and a white man), consider the possibility that Meghan simply doesn’t feel comfortable with such moments at this time. Let her heal and take the time she needs…and allow for the other possibility that she’ll never get back to that space of feeling at ease to do interviews similar to this one. Even after that Oprah interview, it’s clear that we don’t know the full scope of what she’s been through.

      • swirlmamad says:

        Exactly. She was completely robbed of the experience the first time around with Archie. There will be plenty of time in the future for her to speak up and out, which I agree she will absolutely do when the time is right — her speech at Vax Live was just a teaser. She deserves all the time in the world to put her feet up and relax now, and enjoy the baby when she arrives.

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      @mariahlee. I don’t know that she’s lost her pre-royal voice. She’s still discussing things she believes in. I believe she’s shown great fortitude considering all the bullsh*t she’s had to deal with and will have to deal with from the BRF/BM. You’re right-it is undeserved but for the most part that is within the British tabloid/royalist system. Honestly, Harry showing/sharing his voice carries more water for the injustices against Meghan than anything else. He’s kind of making it known for them to come after him and not her….if that’s the game the BRF/BM want to play. In his own words. I’m in the states and through the course of a lot of conversations, I can say that people are not anti Meghan but anti BRF (in my area at least) and most don’t read British tabloids.

  33. Yoyo says:

    Meghan is too busy being pregnant.
    She most likely vent to her friends.
    All I’m saying for a hostage, Harry appears free as a bird, freedom from a cult never look so good.

  34. KA says:

    Some people have mentioned this a bit, but can we discuss what a big “Get” this is for Dax? I have listened to the pod cast a few times, but my husband listens to it religiously. I never expected it to become this successful. And to get Harry for an interview. Dax’s name is now up there with James Cordon and Oprah for one of the first few people to get an exclusive. It’s impressive. And I feel like it deserves a discussion of its own.

    • teecee says:

      Those are all really smart choices, too. Oprah is the establishment, Corden is a nod to the UK , Dax is new media.

      Part of me would love for Megan to do Ziwe when she’s through with maternity leave, but I that might be too dangerous. Still, Ziwe would ask the questions and make the comments that no one else would.

      • Becks1 says:

        It’s interesting all around. I feel like this is a huge get for Dax, but I haven’t really followed or listened to this before so maybe he’s interviewed other Uber-famous people before. And interesting that Harry chose this podcast to be so open and forthcoming about his experiences. He definitely has a strategy about how his PR approach and it’ll be interesting to see what’s next.

    • Eurydice says:

      I think the “get” somehow coincides with Dax’s move to Spotify.

  35. Natters says:

    There is a Wholefoods right next to Kensington Palace, I bet that’s where they met. Btw, Wholefoods in London is way better than US Wholefoods. Much more of a selection, especially with Indian food.

    • Doulton says:

      I was in London in May-June of 2016 and I recall the day all the newspapers had a story on Harry being in Whole Foods. Not long after the birth of Charlotte. The press were implying that he had somehow wandered off from KP in a trance/drugged/medicated state. It was unusual. It was in all the papers. I went to pay a tribute visit to the Whole Foods and it is indeed a short little walk from KP.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        @Doulton-that is unusual. I tried finding a story implying that. Maybe I’m searching wrong but not finding one. The only one coming up is in November of 2016 and Meghan being spotted there and then going to Kensington. hmmm…what was William up to at that time that all the papers would want to put out a false story about Harry? Gardening issues?

  36. Over it says:

    Have you guys seen the latest picture of Harry , I think it’s for his and Oprah series. Damm he looks good.

  37. Eurydice says:

    Super interesting, and Harry being the therapist. Also interesting that Dax is moving to Spotify.

  38. MMadison says:

    Now we know why the British Tabloids and RR didn’t want Harry to leave. Harry, they told us, was not smart. That the only thing he had going for him was that he was a fun guy to be around. They claimed they didn’t understand why Meghan would be interested in him besides his connections. This podcast, Harry in this own words, peaking freely and with knowledge on a subject that is often difficult to explain exposed the British Tabloids and RR of their lies.
    The truth is Harry is everything they wish William was and now they are stuck with William. It’s so bad for the Brits that they follow Harry/Meghan’s every move even after they left GB, became independent of the RF/taxpayers and routinely give them the middle finger.

    • VS says:

      “The truth is Harry is everything they wish William was and now they are stuck with William. It’s so bad for the Brits that they follow Harry/Meghan’s every move even after they left GB, became independent of the RF/taxpayers and routinely give them the middle finger.” —- 100000000% agree

    • This is so true of Harry and William. The UK got the short end of the stick with The Other Brother FFK. Good luck.

  39. Freddy says:

    Meghan and Harry living rent-free in the minds of the British press thrills me to absolute NO END! LOL!!

  40. Cee says:

    The fact Harry name checked the NYT article I read weeks ago and made me realise exactly why I’m feeling so BLAH made me smile.

  41. one of the Marys says:

    I don’t read the British tabloids but the phrasing in these excerpts that jumped out to me was Harry saying people he didn’t expect ‘weaponized’ his mental health, his situation. That’s a very loaded word and I can imagine William bristling because I assume he’s referring to William and/or William’s staff.

  42. L4frimaire says:

    I liked the podcast and thought he had a great rapport with Dax and Monica. The parts the UK press picked upon I barely noticed and he moved on from it. Anyway some good stuff in it. Liked how when Harry left they dissected some stuff, especially the carnival of so- called experts.

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      Really good listen! The stuff at the end was great. Dax talking about “royal experts specialty is being clairvoyant on what royals think”.. Laughed when Dax kind of cackled at the idea of of British Media coming after him.(Dax)

      Each and every time Harry speaks about pretty much anything, cements the idea-to me at least-that he’s really never been the dumb one. Harry wasn’t just William’s scapegoat, Harry was used to cover all of William’s shortcomings probably for most of his life.

  43. MJO says:

    I think Harry should study to become a professional therapist.

  44. Curious says:

    many might call this a privilege man should not have issues. i see this as a person living under pressure to please his family. he manage to get out and make his own future. he have no regrets. he is happy being with the woman he loves that never lead him to a bad place like this family did to him. he is a father and a husband on common grounds . so many couples go through hell by their in laws.i am not royal. but goodness my MIL tried everything to get her son to divorce me.cause i was too young she said. well blah blah she died 4 yrs ago and my husband and i are still married with 2 adult sons. she lost.

  45. Nancy says:

    Whoever is leading the Archewell PR strategy is showing their work. As noted above, they are hitting all of the right notes. Also, I think that leading with Harry is intentional and smart. She was turned into a caricature through no fault of her own. Harry was too, for that matter–though in a different way. Harry was framed as the “dim” one. It is fantastic to listen to him and realize that he is quite articulate and thoughtful. There is nothing sexier than a man that has suffered and learned some stuff because of it. All of this to say, this is all being brilliantly played. Meghan will emerge when she is good and ready. When she does, she will be just as dazzling as Harry, because she is just as authenticate and generous as he is. I am so happy for both of them, I just hope they hold onto each other tight, because what they have is precious.

  46. Jayna says:

    Great podcast. Dax’s show is more of a conversation with his interviewee, and I really enjoyed it. Harry did an amazing job.

  47. For having experienced mental health, Harry speaks with much understanding, insight, and wisdom. He comes across as smart and an intellectual. So soothing and reassuring to listen to him.

  48. Over it says:

    That podcast was incredible. Brits in the media and palace minds dropping left , right and center. Lol