Prince Harry has said he regrets not speaking sooner about how his mother's death affected him. The 31-year-old opened up about the sudden loss of Princess Diana as he hosted a BBQ at Kensington Palace in support of the mental health charity Heads Together at the weekend. "I really regret not ever talking about it," the Prince told his guests, before admitting he had not spoken about losing his mum "for the first 28 years of my life".
Harry was just 12, and his brother William was 15, when Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.
Prince Harry has said he regrets not talking about the death of his mother
"It's ok to suffer, as long as you talk about it," Harry added. "It's not a weakness. Weakness is having a problem and not recognising it and not solving that problem."
His words struck a chord with father-of-three Rio Ferdinand, who lost his wife Rebecca to cancer last year. "He's gone through different stages in his life that my kids are going to be going towards," the former footballer said. "So to get some of his experiences is very rewarding for me and very educational in many ways."
Harry was 12, and William was 15 when Princess Diana was killed
Harry is passionate about his charity work and along with his brother and sister-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, he founded Heads Together, which aims to end the stigma surrounding mental health.
The palace event was attended by a group of high-profile sports stars, including Rio, Dame Kelly Holmes, Victoria Pendleton and Iwan Thomas, who were invited to speak about their psychological problems.
Harry teamed up with William and Kate to establish Heads Together
"The key message here today is that everyone can suffer from mental health," said Harry. "Whether you're a member of the royal family, whether you're a soldier, whether you're a sports star, whether you're a team sport, individual sport, whether you're a white van driver, whether you're a mother, father, a child, it doesn't really matter."