Prince Harry is opening up about his family’s 2019 move across the pond.
“Being in Canada, away from the stressful environment where presumably my body was just pumped full of adrenaline, within two or three days, I experienced this adrenaline crash, something that I’d never experienced before,” Harry, 42, said during a new MasterClass, per People. “It was as if I needed stress in order to get the adrenaline to make my brain function because I became useless around the house.”
Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, relocated to Canada in late 2019 with son Prince Archie, now 7, after the couple stepped down from their duties as senior working royals. After settling in Canada, Harry particularly struggled with his mental health.
“I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks,” the Duke of Sussex recalled in his MasterClass speech, which premiered Thursday, October 8. “I felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline.”
Harry and Meghan, 45, later settled in the former actress’ native California and welcomed daughter Princess Lilibet, now 5, in June 2021. The Sussexes ultimately moved back to England in August in time for Archie and Lili to enroll in a local school for the fall semester.
“Look, the last few weeks have been … eventful,” Harry told Hello! last month, addressing his return to the U.K. for the first time.
While neither Harry nor Meghan revealed what led to their decision to move back to England, a source claimed to Us that the prince was “not as happy” in the United States as he was in his native country.
“They are open to a new chapter,” the insider exclusively told Us in August, noting the Sussexes also plan to retain their properties in California and Portugal. “They’ve been spending a lot of time in Portugal this summer. Harry has friends there, and Meghan has expat friends there. They have a community there.”
Harry’s father, King Charles III, has since confirmed that his son will not receive royal privileges following the step-down. (Harry had been estranged from Charles, 77, following his stateside move, but they are now working toward reconciliation.)
“The charitable work of the Duke and Duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity,” the king wrote in a letter sent to Harry and Meghan’s team, obtained by multiple outlets in September. “In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.”
The king continued, “It is well known that, in January 2020, the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of The Sovereign, and are no longer working Members of The Royal Family. This position, distinct from the State and Royal duties undertaken by the working Royal Family, and with the personal latitude it brings the couple in respect of financial independence and protection of their privacy as they would wish, will continue to be fully respected.”
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