CBS
Prince Harry says he was so distraught over the death of his mother — Princess Diana — that he resorted to heavy drinking and taking drugs — including cocaine — to deal with all the grief.
Harry made the stunning admission to Anderson Cooper on “60 Minutes” Sunday night as part of the Duke of Sussex’s media blitz for his controversial memoir titled, “Spare,” which is out tomorrow.
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As for the relationship between Harry and his immediate family, it seems fully ruptured. Harry says he would like to clear the air and resume a familial relationship, but based on the public allegations he’s made over the last 6 months, it seems like wishful thinking.
Anderson set the stage, asking Harry if he blamed the paparazzi for their alleged role in the 1997 car crash that claimed Diana’s life in Paris when he was only 12.
Harry responded, “Yeah, I mean, it was obvious to us as kids the British press’ part in our mother’s misery and I had a lot of anger inside of me that luckily, I never expressed to anybody.”
He continued … “But I resorted to drinking heavily. Because I wanted to numb the feeling, or I wanted to distract myself from how … whatever I was thinking. And I would, you know, resort to drugs as well.”
In a voiceover, Anderson noted Harry smoked weed and ingested cocaine because the prince felt “hopeless” and “lost” in his late 20’s.
Harry then revealed he was unable to cry over his mom’s death due to the burden he felt, so he tried experimental treatments using hallucinogenic mushrooms and other psychedelics.
“I would never recommend people to do this recreationally,” Harry said. “But doing it with the right people if you are suffering from a huge amount of loss, grief or trauma, then these things have a way of working as a medicine.”
He added that the treatments wiped away the idea “that I needed to cry to prove to my mother that I missed her when, in fact, all she wanted was for me to be happy.”
To close the painful chapter, Harry said he reviewed the police file containing images showing cameramen snapping photos of Diana lying dead in the car.
He also visited the accident scene to confirm his belief that the paps chasing Diana caused the deadly collision — instead of his mom’s chauffeur, whom the police said was to blame because he had been drinking.