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Prince Harry has been vocal about his choice to leave the British royal family after a lifetime in The Firm. In new interviews and his Apple TV+ docuseries, The Me You Don’t See, the prince has gotten candid about the ups and downs of his mental health, losing his mother, Princess Diana, at such a young age, and why meeting and marrying Meghan, Duchess of Sussex changed everything for him.

While many fans of the royal family, and perhaps some senior working royals themselves, aren’t thrilled about Prince Harry’s royal revelations, the Duke of Sussex is determined to speak his truth. In fact, one royal expert says you can really understand how Prince Harry feels about his family and royal life through the tone of his voice.

Prince Harry onstage at the Global Citizen VAX LIVE The Concert at SoFi Stadium
Prince Harry | Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Global Citizen VAX LIVE

Prince Harry wanted to leave the British royal family for years

When Prince Harry announced that he and Meghan were resigning from their roles as senior working royals, fans were stunned. Immediately, many people pointed a finger at Meghan. It turns out that Prince Harry had been unhappy in his royal role for more than a decade.

“It’s the job, right? Grin and bear it. Get on with it,” Prince Harry explained on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast via Daily Mail. “I was in my early twenties, and I was thinking I don’t want this job, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be doing this. Look what it did to my mum, how am I ever going to settle down and have a wife and family when I know it’s going to happen again. I’ve seen behind the curtain, I’ve seen the business model and seen how this whole thing works and I don’t want to be part of this.”

After marrying Meghan, Prince Harry decided that royal life was no longer worth it.

Why did Meghan Markle and Prince Harry leave the British royal family?

Meghan and Prince Harry spoke at length with Oprah about their reason for leaving the royal family. It stemmed from the racist and sexist abuse that Meghan endured at the hands of the British press. They also noted that the royals did very little to come to their aid. They even ignored the duchess when she revealed she was dealing with suicidal ideation.

“Eventually, when I made that decision for my family, I was still told, ‘You can’t do this,’” Prince Harry told Oprah in The Me You Can’t See. “And it’s like, ‘Well how bad does it have to get until I am allowed to do this?’ She was going to end her life. It shouldn’t have to get to that.”

In the end, the Sussexes have moved to California, where they are focused on their family, business ventures, and charity work.

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Prince Harry’s tone of voice reveals how he feels about the royal family

Prince Harry has spoken out about his royal life and aired his frustrations about the royal family, including his father, Prince Charles. However, according to Princess Diana’s voice coach, Stewart Pearce, the prince sharing his truth and experiences is not the same as bashing his family.

“The stories we’ve heard about the boys not getting on or disparagement between Harry and his father is the stuff of all our lives,”  Diana: The Voice of Change author told The Sun. “In Harry’s tone of expression, we do not hear spleen, anger, revenge, reprisal and hear no form of disrespect.”