Harry's royal exit speech eerily similar to one Diana gave in 1993: 'Both longed for a more peaceful life'
More than 2 decades ago, Princess Diana had boldly shared her vision of opening up on a new royal path. Interestingly, her youngest son, Prince Harry, also did the same recently while using eerily similar language.
ABC's new documentary titled 'Royal Divide: Harry, Meghan, and The Crown' looks at the two speeches side by side and highlights the similar tone and language used by the mother-son duo. Very recently, Harry had spoken out about stepping back as senior members of the royal family.
While giving a speech at a dinner for supporters at the Sentebale Charity in London, the Duke of Sussex had finally addressed why he and Meghan Markle chose to give up their "royal duties" and move part-time to Canada. During the speech, he said, "Together, you have given me an education about living. And this role has taught me more about what is right and just than I could have ever imagined. We are taking a leap of faith — thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step."
Harry's sentiments and stance echo the sentiments of his late mother Princess Diana who had spoken of stepping back from public life. "I hope you will forgive me if I use this opportunity to share with you my plans for the future which now indeed have changed," Diana shared. While announcing her withdrawal from public life, Diana also similarly thanked those gathered for the 'education' that they gave her.
She had also spoken of entering public life knowing that the media "might be interested" in both her "private and public" lives but had not predicted the extent that it would affect her. "I was not aware of how overwhelming that attention would become. Nor the extent to which it would affect both my public duties and my personal life, in a manner, that's been hard to bear," Diana had said.
Harry also spoke of his fears that history was repeating itself and "I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."
Harry and Meghan had spoken out in ITV's documentary about their fragile mental state and difficulty to cope with the unpleasant media attention. "When I lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under your wing. You’ve looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger than just us," Harry had concluded.
According to Nacho Figueras, a friend of Harry's, "He has suffered a lot from all of the things that have happened to him. He suffers a lot from people judging him."
