Last week, Prince Harry's new mental health-focused TV series The Me You Can't See debuted on AppleTV+. Throughout the series, the Duke of Sussex opens up about traumatic events from his past, including the loss of his mother at just 12-years-old and the experience of walking behind her coffin in front of the masses, which have affected his mental health.
Since the series premiered, Harry has faced an onslaught of criticism for publicly sharing his negative experiences as a member of the British Royal Family. In the most recent issue of People, however, two royal experts defend the Duke of Sussex's decision to candidly discuss his own mental health journey.
"The world is a better place for what Harry has done," royal historian Robert Lacey told the outlet. "But this is another blow for the British crown and royal family."
Bryony Gordon, a British journalist, and, like Harry himself, a mental health advocate, believes the Duke is undertaking "an important form of duty" in his efforts to destigmatize mental health. "This is a man who, at the age of 12, was sent out to walk behind his mother's coffin and console the masses outside Kensington Palace," Gordon said. "I just don't understand why we're now angry with him that that might have affected him."
Many of the criticisms hurled at Harry has to do with his comments about his father, Prince Charles, and the way young members of the Royal Family have been raised in the palace. "My father used to say to me when I was younger, 'Well, it was like that for me, so it's going to be like that for you,'" Harry says in The Me You Can't See. "That doesn't make sense — just because you suffered, that doesn't mean that your kids have to suffer, in fact quite the opposite. If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences that you had, you can make it right for your kids."
Harry's decision to step down from his official role within the Royal Family and move to California was largely inspired by his desire for Archie to have a better, more private life than he was afforded. Since his move, Harry says he is now able to take Archie out for bike rides, which he wasn't able to do in London.
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