8 biggest bombshells from Prince Harry's tell-all interview from UK return to grief

Demetria Osei-TutuWed, October 21, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC

0

Prince Harry was very candid during a new interview.

The 42-year-old Duke of Sussex did his first sit-down interview with GQ's Zach Baron since returning to the United Kingdom, which was released on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The interview was initially done in September in New York City. Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, 45, along with their two children, returned to Britain in August after announcing their relocation that same month. Their children - Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5 - have enrolled in school in England.

Within the interview, Harry talked about all the things, such as his grief over his mother's death, wanting to reconcile with his father and brother, the reason he returned to the U.K., and controlling his narrative.

Star Trek star dies at 97 as friend shares heartbreaking tribute

Harry breaks silence on UK return as he says his and Meghan's 'attitude has changed'

The Daily Express US goes over the eight biggest bombshells in the interview.

Prince Harry does his first sit-down interview since coming back to the UK (Image: Bowen Fernie/GQ)

Prince Harry did his first sit-down interview with GQ's Zach Baron since returning to the United Kingdom, which was released on Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, 45, along with their two children, relocated to Britain in August after announcing their return that same month.

Within the interview, the 42-year-old Duke Of Sussex talked about all the things, such as his grief over his mother's death, wanting to reconcile with his father and brother, the reason he returned to the U.K., and controlling his narrative.

Harry shares the reason for he and his family's return to the U.K. (Image: One More Question & GQ/YouTube)

Harry explained the question that many wanted to know about: why he and Markle, with their two children, came back to the U.K.

"Opportunities for the family," Harry told the outlet. "Being able to put the kids in a British school has meant a lot to me. I didn't know how important it was to me."

"I always thought it was gonna be something that I would try and do or that we would try and do, but now they've been in school for two weeks," he continued. "They're loving it, and it's just giving them a whole different experience."

He asserted that he's not "criticizing American schools" and further explained that he wanted Archie and Lilibet to have the opportunity to have that "comparison" between the two regions as well as "have two completely different cultural experiences is so important today."

Harry went on to name another reason, which was to be "back closer to my family and to be back on U.K. soil for longer than a few days or a week here or there.

Harry said he wants to reconcile with his father and his brother (Image: Getty Images)

Harry spoke about his complicated relationship with his brother, Prince William, and his father, King Charles, and his desire to repair the family rift.

Harry mentioned that the difficult relationships he has with his father and brother are something he grieves, and noted that this issue is "massively relatable" to others. The British royal said that people can relate to the "sibling disagreements" and the "broken relationship" between children and parents.

Harry remarked that this is something that continues to come up with him with other people, and there's clearly a "fascination" in the situation. He said people are looking to see how they work it out, maybe to use it to help with their own issues.

Baron asked Harry how he was going to work it out.

"Some people don't want it to work out. I want it to work out. With everything else that's going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile. That's the key point," he said.

When asked if he thought he could repair "this wound," Harry said, "Yeah, of course... look, scars stick around forever, but what your perception is and what your mindset is to those things that have happened, certainly letting go of the past, that's something that I would encourage everybody to do."

"If there's certain things from the past that's still affecting your everyday, that's harder to let go of. But yeah, for me, there's enough drama in the world and enough drama in people's lives than to continue with issues with family," he added.

Harry shared his biggest regret about his mother's death (Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

Harry lost his mother, Princes Diana, when he was 12. Diana died following a car crash in a Paris tunnel on Aug. 31, 1997, at the age of 36.

He shared that one of the biggest regrets is the last phone call he had with her.

Advertisement

"If I'd known it was the last call with her, how different that conversation would have been. And I'm the one that has to live with that," he added.

He shared how he knows now he was just a 12-year-old who wanted to play and how, as a parent now, it changes his perspective on it, but before, it always felt "a sort of bit of guilt" that stayed with him.

Harry shared his partying lifestyle came from wanting to cope with his mom's loss (Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

While discussing his grief over his mother, he mentioned how people over the years have told him he's changed - seemingly referencing his partying days.

"It's like, well, so I'm no longer falling out of nightclubs drunk? Is that what you wanted for me, you know?" Harry stated.

Zach inquired if he thought people who told him he's changed meant it that way. Harry replied that, to "some extent," they do, and how his partying reputation was "entertainment" for lots of people, especially the press.

When asked whether that image was a "fair characterization" of how he ever was. Harry stated that it wasn't, and that for him "work was the work and the play was the play," and that he was "quite good" at balancing the work and the play.

"But, you know, when I was young, was I going out and having a good time with friends? Yes. Was I sometimes doing that to suppress the sadness of losing my mom? Yes. Was I aware of it at the time? Absolutely not, you know?" Harry elaborated.

Harry said he was supressing his feelings for over 20 years (Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

Harry talked about how he previously suppressed his feelings over his mom's death for 20 years. He shared that therapy was key to helping him change that habit and realize how emotionally "numb" he was.

"Because it gave me permission to grieve and to acknowledge the fact that, losing your mom really sucks and you're allowed to cry about it," the father-of-two explained.

The suppression also meant he didn't cry during the time and he noted how after eventually crying, it felt "great."

Harry said that the military was the "perfect distraction" (Image: Getty)

Harry had served in the British Army from 2005 to June 2015. He did two operational tours in Afghanistan and rose to the rank of captain. He also qualified as an Apache helicopter pilot and aircraft commander.

Harry told Baron that the military was a "perfect distraction" while he was running from something. He remarked that he was also a "perfect candidate" for the army, as he was "a highly adrenalized 20-something-year-old."

He added how he came from a broken home, like so many other soldiers. He said the army is "good at recruiting from broken homes."

"But this is when post-traumatic stress and all that stuff comes up, and where the research shows that so many of us who have served operationally, who might be suffering from some form of post-traumatic stress, that the incident was the trigger," Harry explained.

Harry added how that experience opens up something that "precedes service" and exposes the childhood trauma that many carry which is something some are aware of and alot aren't.

Prince Harry talked about his feelings about the media (Image: Getty)

One of the reasons Harry mentioned as the reason for he and Markle leaving the United Kingdom for California was the intense as well as severe scrutiny and the treatment from the British media.

Zach had asked if the initial reasons they left "changed materially," and if they thought it's going to be different now or have a different attitude toward it. Harry replied that their attitude has changed.

"I think once you've been through it, once you've been able to talk about it and raise awareness to it, then people see it for what it is, which makes the environment slightly easier," he said. "And it's not going to necessarily stop the behavior, but then that's the second part, which is the behavior: My hope is that it will change."

"What happened back then was then, what's happened over the last six years has been a continuation of that. There are some battles that have been fought, necessarily so. But hopefully, we can all draw a line under that. And with everything else that's going on in the world, there's aspects of the past that I'm sure all of us, me, my family, some of the British press, that we'd all like to leave behind us and work for the greater good," Harry continued.

The Invictus founder said he is "optimistic" and "hopeful," but he is not "naive" as he was in the past. He noted that the main thing is respect, and he "can respect them if they respect me and our position. Our position is really quite clear now, and hopefully we can get on with life."

Prince Harry says his deceased mother 'responds' to his questions (Image: One More Question & GQ/YouTube)

Prince Harry confessed that he still talks to his deceased mother frequently and that he thinks of her every day.

During the interview, the Duke of Sussex confessed that he still often asks his mother questions and that she sometimes "responds" to them. He went on to add that he still feels her energy, and that they are still connected to one another even decades after her passing.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”