Princess Diana’s pal: ‘Harry’s destroying himself & hurting his family. Only Meghan Markle can stop him’

As Prince Harry launches yet another scathing attack on the royals, and claims it was wife Meghan Markle who helped him ‘fix’ himself with therapy, Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell says the late Princess would be devastated at his actions – and insists Meghan is the only one who can persuade him to end to his continual outbursts

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by Lily Smith |
Updated on

The royal family was left reeling after more bombshells exploded last week, with Prince Harry launching yet another searing attack on them in his new mental health docuseries, which followed hot on the heels of a high court judge sensationally ruling that his mother Princess Diana had been “deceived” into giving her infamous 1995 BBC Panorama interview.

After Harry’s five-part series The Me You Can’t See – which he produced with chat show host Oprah Winfrey – aired in the US last Thursday, viewers saw him make more damning allegations about the treatment he and wife Meghan Markle received from his family.

He addressed traumatic memories from his childhood, telling Oprah his family did not speak about his mother’s death and expected him to deal with the resulting press attention and mental distress. He blasted his father, Prince Charles, for treating him as he had been brought up, explaining, “Just because you suffered doesn’t mean that your kids have to suffer.”

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At Diana’s 1997 funeral ©Getty Images

He also shockingly revealed that wife Meghan – who previously opened up about her suicidal thoughts during their Oprah interview in March – had broken down and detailed to him how she would take her own life, but only stopped because she didn’t want Harry to “lose another woman” in his life.

He also said that Meghan had encouraged him to seek help after an argument they had four years ago, revealing, “I saw GPs. I saw doctors. I saw therapists. I saw alternative therapists. I saw all sorts of people, but it was meeting and being with Meghan. I knew that if I didn’t do therapy and fix myself, that I was going to lose this woman who I could see spending the rest of my life with.”

Ominously, he added he has no intention of stopping his tell-all interviews, saying, “Certainly now I will not be bullied into silence.”

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filming the me you can't see with oprah ©YouTube

And Princess Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell – who worked with her for 10 years up until her death, and first met Harry when he was three – says that while therapy will have been beneficial, he can’t understand why Harry is playing it out in public – and insists only Meghan has the power to stop him.

Paul, 62, says, “There’s no doubt it’s a great idea for Harry to have help and therapy. But therapy is supposed to be confidential – it doesn’t work on the world stage. Doing what he’s doing is only going to cause him so much more pain. I don’t recognise him now – he’s almost become the centre of his own world. He’s hurting his family and saying things that I really think he’ll regret. Meghan has encouraged him to get therapy and change his way of thinking – but I think he’ll be left broken when this all stops and he realises what he’s done.

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princess diana with her sons Prince William and Prince Harry in 1995 ©Getty Images

“He’s been blinded by Meghan, by her beauty and by this Hollywood world. I think now it could only be Meghan who can stop him from doing these interviews and doing any more damage, and destroying himself. He won’t heal if he keeps doing this – it’ll make things worse in the long run. I honestly have no idea when it will stop.”

Harry’s highly-charged comments came after the outcome of an investigation into Diana’s sensational BBC Panorama interview, which ruled that journalist Martin Bashir had engaged in “deceitful behaviour” by commissioning fake documents to secure his chat with her.

Last week, both her sons publicly condemned Bashir and the BBC, with Prince William even suggesting in a public statement he’d read out via a video that it ultimately led to Diana’s death as she had been stripped of her HRH title and security and was left vulnerable.

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William delivered a public statement about the Panorama interview ©Twitter / kensingtonroyal

In his new docuseries, Harry also reveals how his mother’s death in 1997 left him traumatised and caused mental health issues in his 20s.

He said, “When my mum was taken away from me at the age of 12, I didn’t want the life, sharing the grief of my mother’s death with the world. For me, the thing I remember the most was the sound of the horses’ hooves going along the Mall. It was like I was outside of my body and just walking along doing what was expected of me.”

Check out: 9 times Meghan Markle dressed like Princess Diana

Gallery

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

The glittering Roland Mouret gown worn by Meghan at the premiere of Cirque du Soleil's Totem show was reminiscent of a Catherine Walker dress Princess Diana wore in 1990.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

Both Meghan and Diana chose a monochrome color palette for visits to Royal Ascot.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

It seems both royals are a fan of pairing red and purple. Princess Diana wore the combo a visit to Hong Kong in November 1989 while Meghan wore it on a visit to Birkenhead in January of 2019.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

In 1987 Princess Diana wore tartan at Bute Highland Games in Scotland and two decades later Meghan wore a Burberry tartan coat for an official visit to Scotland during her engagement.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

Meghan sheer pleated Givenchy skirt (which caused quite the controversy) and matching top may well have been inspired by Princess Diana's all-blue look from 1982.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

Both royal women are a fan of pinstripes, as seen by this pinstriped blazer worn by Diana in Sheffield and the buttoned Altuzarra dress Meghan wore at the Commonwealth Youth Forum.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

Even at the end of her royal duties, Meghan channelled Diana in her wardrobe. Just look at this green dress and matching hat worn by Meghan on Commonwealth Day compared to Diana's Trooping of the Colour dress and hat from 1982.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

At the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, one of the very first times we saw Meghan and Harry in public together, Meghan and her cali-girl vibes looked very similar to an outfit Princess Diana wore while in Bosnia.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

Not ones to shy away from colour, Princess Diana and Meghan also both know just how amazing a simple white dress can look.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

Both have sported tailored blush pink dresses. Princess Diana wore a Versace coat dress in 1995 while The Duchess of Sussex wore a modern take on the trend when visiting the Nelson Mandela Centenary Exhibition at Southbank Centre in London.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

Meghan's second wedding dress (a Stella McCartney design) was noticeably similar to a high-necked evening gown worn by Princess Diana at a reception at Spencer House in London.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

Meghan wore a stunning Safiyaa caped red gown o the Mountbatten Festival of Music at Royal Albert Hall that looked very similar to the red Jacques Azagury dress Diana wore to an American Red Cross dinner in 1997.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

The chic plaid suit that Diana wore while at Paddington Station in London in 1988 looks very similar to an off-the-shoulder structured shirt Meghan wore on a visit to Wales.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

The off-the-shoulder pink Carolina Herrera dress Meghan wore to Trooping the Colour was rather similar to Princess Diana's look worn at the Royal Ballet in Germany in 1987.

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All The Times Meghan Markle Dressed Like Princess Diana

At Commonwealth Day in March 2019 Meghan wore an emerald green Erden coat not dissimilar to the one worn by Princess Diana in 1982.

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Get the best celeb interviews in Closer magazine each week ©closer magazine

He also said he had no doubt Diana would have been “incredibly proud” of him now, adding, “I’m living the life that she wanted us to be able to live.”

However, Paul believes Diana would have been devastated at the thought of Harry falling out with his family.

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He adds, “There’s no doubt Harry was incredibly deeply affected by his mum’s death. She was the closest person to him in the entire world. I remember him being at Kensington Palace, and breaking down, asking to have some of her personal items – like her hairbrush. It was devastating. But days later, he was walking the procession behind Diana’s coffin with a straight face and no tears. He didn’t want to do it at all, but he was made to do that. I think that would have stuck with him.

“But what he’s doing now is going to make everything so much worse for him. Diana would be heartbroken it’s come to this. Not only would she be devastated that Harry is cut off from his family, but she’d disapprove of him tearing down the royals. She’d want him to stop airing his dirty laundry, and to live a quiet, private life, focused on his children.”

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