Prince Harry’s California fairytale is facing a fresh round of scrutiny after a former royal editor claimed the Duke of Sussex appears “more unhappy now than he’s ever been.”
Harry, who walked away from royal life with Meghan Markle in 2020, has spent years trying to build a new world far from palace walls. But according to former royal editor Duncan Larcombe, the prince may still be carrying the emotional weight of his past.
The claim comes after Harry spoke openly about therapy, fatherhood and childhood trauma during a recent appearance at a Movember event in Melbourne, Australia.
The Duke said becoming a father made him realize he had unresolved pain from his earlier years.
“I knew that I had stuff from the past that I needed to deal with,” Harry said, referring to the period before Prince Archie was born in 2019.
He also defended therapy as something that does not have to come only after a breakdown.
“You don’t have to wait until you’re lying on the kitchen floor in the foetal position,” Harry said.
But while Harry has often presented his new life in Montecito as peaceful and free, Larcombe suggested the prince’s emotional openness tells a different story.
Speaking to New magazine, Larcombe said Harry has long been open about his “flawed and traumatic” childhood and described him as someone who wears his heart on his sleeve.
He added that Harry, unlike Prince William, seems “tortured” by the past and prone to emotional outbursts.
Then came the cutting claim: “He seems more unhappy now than he’s ever been.”
The remark is likely to fuel even more debate over whether Harry truly found the freedom he said he wanted when he left the royal fold.
Since stepping back from royal duties, Harry and Meghan have settled in California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. But the couple’s post-palace life has been anything but quiet, with family feuds, security battles, media deals and public criticism keeping them firmly in the spotlight.
After their recent trip to Australia, Meghan returned home with the children while Harry traveled alone to Ukraine for non-royal engagements.
For supporters, Harry’s honesty about mental health is a sign of growth. For critics, it is another reminder that even after leaving the monarchy behind, the prince may still be fighting battles he cannot escape.
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