Prince Harry in therapy fearing he’ll repeat King Charles’ parenting mistakes that ‘scarred him for life’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Prince Harry is reportedly in therapy as he wrestles with childhood trauma linked to the way his father, King Charles, treated Princess Diana.
The Duke of Sussex, who has two young children with Meghan Markle, is said to be deeply afraid of following in his father’s footsteps.
Prince Harry fears repeating King Charles' parenting mistakes
A source close to Harry said he is committed to therapy as a way of avoiding the mistakes he believes Charles made.
“Harry's big into 'wellness' and mental health now thanks to Meghan’s influence and his involvement in mental health charities,” the source shared with RadarOnline.
“He's being supported by Meghan in his decision to see a counselor as he's racked with fear he will fall into the classic trap of repeating mistakes from the past.”
The insider added, “His therapy is classic blame-the-parents stuff. It's not that he's a bad dad – he just wants to do everything he can not to so what Charles did.”
Much of Harry’s pain reportedly stems from what he believes was his father’s cold treatment of Princess Diana.
Diana as noted by the publication once said Charles made a cruel remark when he saw their newborn son.
“Oh God, it's a boy! And he's even got red hair,” Charles reportedly sneered, as recalled by Diana. “Something inside me closed off,” she added.
Prince Harry still haunted by Charles’ reaction to Diana’s death: ‘Scarred for life’
Sources said Harry is still “horrified” by the way Charles handled the aftermath of Diana’s tragic death.
“Harry is still heartbroken he and William were made to walk behind Diana's coffin as kids, and by Charles' buttoned-up emotionless state in the wake of her death left him and his brother scarred for life,” the insider revealed.
Harry, now 40, wants to ensure his own children, Archie and Lilibet, never go through similar trauma.
“It’s not the kind of behavior he ever wants his kids to experience,” the source said. The Duke is determined to be “the best dad he can be” so Meghan never has to face the same mental struggles Diana endured.
Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 at age 36, revealed in her 1995 'BBC Panorama' interview with Martin Bashir that she struggled with post-partum depression after William’s birth.
“You'd wake up in the morning feeling you didn't want to get out of bed, you felt misunderstood, and just very, very low in yourself,” Diana said.
Princess Diana once threw herself down stairs seeking King Charles’ attention: ‘I felt so desperate’
Diana also had revealed suffering mental anguish before William’s birth.
In Andrew Morton’s 1992 book 'Diana: Her True Story', she described a terrifying moment when she threw herself down the stairs four months into her pregnancy.
“When I was four months pregnant with William I threw myself downstairs, trying to get my husband's attention, for him to listen to me,” Diana said in the book.
“I had told Charles I felt so desperate and I was crying my eyes out. He said I was crying wolf. ‘I'm not going to listen,’ he said.
"You're always doing this to me. I'm going riding now,” he reportedly said.
