Story highlights
- Prince Harry said for years he pushed the pain away before realizing he needed help
- He was speaking to raise awareness about mental health
(CNN)Britain's Prince Harry has revealed that he sought counseling four years ago to deal with the grief of losing his mother, Princess Diana.
In a candid interview with British newspaper The Telegraph, the fifth in line to the throne said the loss of his mother at such a young age had led to a period of "total chaos."
"I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12 and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life but also my work as well," he told The Telegraph in a podcast interview published Sunday.
Prince Harry said he sought professional help at the age of 28 after enduring "two years of total chaos. I didn't know what was wrong with me."
"My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand. Refusing to ever think about my mum because why would that help? It's only going to make you sad. It's not going to bring her back," he said.
The Princess of Wales died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997. Her sudden death sent shock waves around the world and plunged Britain into a period of mourning
Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Princess Diana remains a beloved figure more than 20 years after her untimely death. See more photos of the British icon and the legacy she left behind.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana, seen here on her first birthday, was born Diana Frances Spencer on July 1, 1961. She was born into a noble family in Sandringham, England. Her father, John, was Viscount Althorp before becoming the 8th Earl Spencer in 1975.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana circa 1965. Growing up, she attended private schools in England and Switzerland.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana poses with her brother, Charles, in 1968. She also had two sisters, Sarah and Jane.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana, far right, is photographed with her father, John, and her three siblings circa 1970. Sarah is on the far left and Jane is next to Diana. When Diana was 7 years old, her parents divorced and her father was given custody of the children.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
A teenage Diana receives a "kiss" from her pony, Scuffle, in 1974. A year later, she became Lady Diana after her grandfather died and her father became the 8th Earl Spencer.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
After finishing school, Diana worked various jobs, including cook, nanny and kindergarten teacher. Here she is in 1980 with two children she looked after as a nanny.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana and Camilla Parker-Bowles visit the Ludlow racecourse in October 1980, where Prince Charles was competing as a jockey. Diana and Charles would be engaged just a few months later. Prince Charles admitted in 1994 to a relationship with Parker-Bowles while still married to Diana; Charles and Camilla wed in 2005.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana looks startled after stalling her new car outside her London apartment in November 1980.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana is surrounded by photographers shortly before it was announced that she was engaged to Prince Charles.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana and Charles pose at Buckingham Palace after the announcement of their engagement on February 24, 1981.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana and Charles arrive at Goldsmith Hall in London for a charity recital in March 1981.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
The couple poses with Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in March 1981.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
The royal wedding was held July 29, 1981, at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. It was estimated that more than 700 million people watched the ceremony on television.
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Charles and Diana kiss on the Buckingham Palace balcony after being married.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
During their honeymoon, Charles and Diana leave Gibraltar on the royal yacht Britannia.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
The couple spends part of their honeymoon in Scotland.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Charles and Diana attend the Grand National horse race in April 1982.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
In June 1982, Diana gave birth to her first child, William.
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Diana greets a child while visiting Wrexham, Wales, in November 1982.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Charles, William and Diana pose for a photo at Kensington Palace in February 1983.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana gave birth to a second son, Harry, in September 1984.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Charles kisses his wife after a polo match in Cirencester, England, in June 1985.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana watches her boys play at the piano in Kensington Palace in October 1985.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana helps William with a puzzle in October 1985.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana attends a polo match that her husband played in Palm Beach, Florida, in November 1985.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana dances with actor John Travolta at the White House in November 1985. Dancing behind Travolta are US President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan. A few years ago, Diana's blue velvet dress -- nicknamed the "Travolta dress" -- was auctioned for 240,000 British pounds ($362,424 US).
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Diana holds up Harry in the garden of Highgrove House, a royal residence in Gloucestershire, England, in July 1986.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
William rides a miniature pony at Highgrove House.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Prince Harry shows a bit of his personality on the Buckingham Palace balcony in June 1988.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana and her two boys walk outside the Wetherby School in London in April 1990.
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Diana and her sons go skiing in Lech, Austria, in April 1991.
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Diana and Charles sit together during a royal tour of Toronto in October 1991.
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Diana visits Egypt in May 1992.
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Charles and Diana attend a memorial service during a tour of South Korea in November 1992. A month later, it was announced that they had formally separated.
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Diana and her sons visit Thorpe Park, a theme park in Surrey, England, in April 1993.
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Diana arrives at the Serpentine Gallery in London in June 1994.
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A police officer holds back a photographer as Diana walks by in July 1996. It had just been announced that Diana and Charles had divorced.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana talks to amputees in Angola, where she traveled in January 1997 to bring attention to the anti-land mine campaign of the International Red Cross. Sitting on her lap is Sandra Thijica, a 13-year-old who lost her left leg to a land mine.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana wears protective gear as she visits minefields in Angola in January 1997.
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Diana visits Cape Town, South Africa, and meets with South African President Nelson Mandela in March 1997.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana holds hands with Mother Teresa after they met in New York in June 1997.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
This photo, taken from surveillance video, shows Diana arriving at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on August 30, 1997. It is one of the last photos of her alive.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Diana is seen in a Ritz Hotel elevator with her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed. After leaving the hotel, the couple was killed in a high-speed car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
Wreckage is lifted away after the car Diana was in crashed into a pillar on August 31, 1997. Fayed and driver Henri Paul died at the scene. Diana died at a Paris hospital a few hours later. A French investigation concluded that Paul was legally drunk at the time and responsible for the accident. In 2008, a British coroner's jury found that Diana and Fayed were unlawfully killed because of the actions of Paul and pursuing paparazzi.
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Photos: Princess Diana: Her life and legacy
On the eve of Diana's funeral, the Queen and Prince Philip look at floral tributes left outside Buckingham Palace. More than 1 million bouquets of flowers were left at Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace and St. James's Palace in the wake of Diana's death.
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Diana's coffin is carried into London's Westminster Cathedral in September 1997. Watching at the bottom, from left, is Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Charles Spencer, Prince William and Prince Philip.
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Known as the people's princess, Diana married Prince Charles in a lavish ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral in London in 1981.
She gave birth to son William in 1982, and his brother Harry in 1984.
The younger Prince has at times struggled with the press attention. Five years after his mother's death, at the age of 16, his father sent him to a drug rehab center for a day after he confessed to heavy drinking and using marijuana.
He later had a successful career in the British Army before leaving in July 2015.
Prince Harry told the Telegraph that he pushed aside his emotions for years before realizing that they had to be confronted.
Photos: Prince Harry through the years
Britain's Prince Harry smiles as he attends a ceremony for the 2015 London Marathon. The engagement of the prince and American actress Meghan Markle was announced on Monday, November 27.
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Photos: Prince Harry through the years
Prince Charles and Princess Diana leave a London hospital with newborn baby Harry on September 16, 1984. It was their second son.
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Harry is held by his mother during this family photo with his dad and his brother, Prince William, in 1984.
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Harry, left, and William play on rocking horses at Kensington Palace.
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Harry sticks his tongue out, much to the surprise of his mother, at Buckingham Palace in 1988.
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Prince Charles and his sons pose outside a country house circa 1990.
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Harry, left, and William wave to the cameras during a 1991 tour of Canada. The caps were given to them by the crew of the Canadian frigate HMCS Ottawa.
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Princess Diana and her sons visit Thorpe Park, a theme park in Surrey, England, in 1993.
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Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, offers Harry a reassuring arm during her funeral service in 1997.
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Prince Charles and his sons enjoy a ski holiday together in 2000.
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Harry takes part in the traditional Wall Game at Eton College in 2003.
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In 2003, Harry stands between some artwork he completed while studying at Eton College.
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Harry holds an echidna at Sydney's Taronga Zoo in 2003.
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Harry takes part in a 2005 Trooping the Colour event with fellow cadets at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England.
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Harry, far left, joins a photo for his father's second marriage in 2005. After Harry, from left, are his brother; his father; his stepmother, Camilla; and Camilla's children, Laura and Tom Parker Bowles.
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Harry and Queen Elizabeth II share a joke on his father's wedding day.
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Harry takes part in military training in 2005. In February 2008, the British Ministry of Defense announced that Harry had secretly been serving in Afghanistan with his Army unit on a four-month mission. The next day, he was withdrawn for security reasons.
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Harry and his girlfriend at the time, Chelsy Davy, watch a rugby match in London in 2009.
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Harry joins Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 2012.
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Harry smiles after playing rugby at a beach in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.
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Harry receives a royal salute from the honor guard at the Garden Island naval base in Sydney in 2013.
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Harry plays rugby with children as he takes part in a coaching session in London in 2013.
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Harry flies in the back of a Spitfire in this undated photo released in 2015. The flight was to promote his Spitfire scholarship, which offers training for wounded service members.
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Harry and his father attend a 2015 memorial service for the Battle of Gallipoli, a World War I campaign that took place a century earlier.
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Harry, William and Catherine take a photo with US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama after the Obamas arrived at Kensington Palace in 2016.
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Harry sits with Hayley Henson, left, and her daughter Emily during the Invictus Games in Toronto in September. Hayley is married to British paralympian David Henson, and young Emily was sneaking bites of the prince's popcorn. Harry founded the Invictus Games, an international sporting competition for injured service members.
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Harry watches wheelchair tennis with his girlfriend, Meghan Markle, at the Invictus Games in September.
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Harry smiles as he speaks to veterans in London in November. He was attending the official opening ceremony of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey.
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Harry and Markle take photos at Kensington Palace to announce their engagement.
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"From an emotional side, I was like 'right, don't ever let your emotions be part of anything.' So, I was a typical sort of 20-, 25-, 28-year-old running around going 'life is great, or life is fine,'" he continued.
"Then I started to have a few conversations and then, all of a sudden, all of this grief that I'd never processed came to the forefront. I was like, 'there's actually a lot of stuff here I need to deal with.'"
Prince Harry did the interview to promote his mental health charity, Heads Together, and encourage people to be more open with their personal feelings and struggles.
He described how his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, urged him to seek professional help.
He said the pressure of being in the public eye caused him to be "very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions."
Now, because of the "process I have been through," Prince Harry said he feels he's in "a good place."
