Prince Harry’s BBC interview was explosive enough to generate a new round of global headlines questioning his stability, his motives and even his very sanity. As a clinical psychiatrist my job isn’t just to make diagnoses – and I have had calls from media all over the world asking me to deliver one in this case – but also to read between the lines and deduce what is really going on under the surface.
And my instinct, given that one of the Duke’s many laments is his ongoing estrangement from the Royals, is that his latest public outpouring was in fact an attempt to send a message to the King and other members of his family. With other avenues of communication apparently cut off – he claimed the King will not take his calls – this was quite possibly a bid to garner attention on the public stage in a manner they simply cannot ignore, quite possibly a form of emotional blackmail.
The underlying message here, I suspect, is Harry telling the Royals: I will continue to make a splash in a way that, at best, is irritating, at worst damaging to The Firm, unless you start to take me and my grievances seriously. The Duke appeared visibly shocked after losing his legal appeal against a government decision that downgraded his security after he stopped being a working royal and moved to the US with the Duchess of Sussex. His emotions were on display.
He appeared to have been caught off balance by the result, in denial that his protestation of "inferior treatment” had not convinced the senior judge who ruled on Friday that his "sense of grievance" over how the decision to alter his security was reached did not amount to a basis for a successful appeal. Yet even though this is a battle he has lost before, he appears unable to move on.
He clearly remains deeply concerned for the safety of his family and one cannot begrudge him that. After all, officialdom has access to intelligence which private security wouldn’t be able to obtain. Yet as he restated his position again and again, he appeared psychologically stuck, so convinced of the logic and morality of his position that he couldn’t seem to grasp that, even if he is right, he is still not getting what he wants.
The psychology of a prince who is used to getting his way, might be invoked, but the elephant in the room was this: if Harry feels his life is under threat, why does it appear that the judiciary and Establishment don’t agree?
Surely he cannot believe the Royals and government wish any harm to come to him? I suspect he remains haunted by what happened to his late mother, Princess Diana, and this impacts upon his decision making and thought processes. It would be completely understandable, after all. Yet reacting to this latest legal disappointment by throwing fresh grenades seems like a hasty, ill-though-out tactic, and one which will certainly not serve to soften differences between the Duke and Palace.
I can only hope Prince Harry is being well-advised. He appears to be in difficulty and, I would suggest respectfully, needs help to move on and really start a process of rapprochement with his family. Sadly this is unlikely to happen though the prism of another angry media interview showing his apparently trapped mindset.
