Prince Harry has said very little about why he and Meghan Markle gave up their royal duties and moved to the U.S. But in an interview that aired Thursday on The Late Late Show, Harry confessed to host James Corden that he decided to leave the U.K. to protect his mental health.
To begin, Harry tried to set the record straight about him and Meghan Markle leaving behind those royal duties. “It was never walking away — it was stepping back, rather than stepping down.”
After that, things got very candid. Harry said, “It was a really difficult environment, as I think a lot of people saw. We all know what the British press can be like, and it was destroying my mental health. I was like, ‘This is toxic.’”
For Harry, the decision was pretty simple. “So I did what any husband and what any father would do, is like, I need to get my family out of here.”
However, the Prince maintains that he can fulfill some of his royal duties wherever he goes. “But we never walked away. And as far as I’m concerned, whatever decisions are made on that side, I will never walk away,” he said. “I will always be contributing, but my life is public service, so wherever I am in the world, it’s going to be the same thing.”
Earlier this month, Harry and Meghan announced that they are expecting their second child. They had been planning to visit the U.K. in June for the official celebration of the queen’s birthday. Now, it is unknown if Meghan’s pregnancy will affect their travel plans.
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