♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, royal revelations. in a new docuseries, prince harry baring his soul. >> i quickly established that if this relationship was going to work, that i was going to have to deal with my past. because there was anger there. >> the lasting impact of losing his mother. and taking aim at his father. >> we've never heard really ever the royal family speak so candidly about the pain they experience behind the scenes. plus a son's heartbreak. using his personal struggles to help reduce the stigma of talking about mental health. >> to receive help is not a sign of weakness.

in today's world, more than ever, it is a sign of strength.

♪ tonight, the new bombshells widening the rift between prince harry and the royal family he left behind. the prince revealing childhood scars and what life was truly

like in service to queen and country. nearly 25 years ago, a 12-year-old prince walked behind his mother's coffin. as 2.5 billion people around the world watched. now in the apple tv series "the me you can't see" which he and oprah winfrey executive produced together, prince harry lays bare the lifelong trauma he suffered. and he's now healing through therapy. >> to make that decision to receive help is not a sign of weakness. in today's world, more than ever, it is a sign of strength. >> reporter: harry admitting he suffered from anxiety and panic attacks. >> i wish she could have met meghan. i wish she was around for archie. yeah, i have no doubt that my mom would be incredibly proud of me. i'm living the life that she wanted to live for herself. living life that she wanted us to be able to live. >> how do i fix this?

it was a case of, you need to go back to the past, go back to the point of trauma, deal with it, process it, and then move forward. >> he spoke in the documentary series about dealing with drugs and alcohol use, to sort of deal with the grief and the pain. but also how he felt so unable to protect his mother during a very vulnerable time. >> are you surprised by the amount of personal information harry is sharing? >> i am surprised, because essentially, he moved to america for privacy. and i think a lot of brits are somewhat perplexed at the moment, because this is the opposite to privacy, this is the opposite to living a quiet life. >> reporter: harry's personal revelations and the results of an independent investigation that found the bbc was dishonest in securing that famous 1995 interview with princess diana just the latest in the continuing drama surrounding the crown. cracks in the royal armor first began to show early last year

when prince harry and his wife meghan markle quit royal life and pulled back the curtain on one of the most revered but rigid institutions in the world. >> we've never heard, really ever, a member of the royal family speak so candidly about the pain they experience behind the scenes. >> i think harry's remarks have been damaging, but they're coming from somebody who's damaged. >> reporter: in the five-episode series about mental health, people from all walks of life sharing their painful struggles. >> quote this story from self-service. to be honest, it's hard to tell. i feel a lot of shame bill. >> reporter: after more than a year of global suffering during covid-19, the new series tries to remind people that the pandemic has sked everyone. >> grief isn't just losing someone. grief is the loss of anything that matters. >> reporter: 36-year-old prince harry admits to being deeply scarred from life in a gilded cage. >> he wants his story out there

too. because clearly, he's very upset by what's happened. he hasn't found the solutions or the sort of acceptance or accountability within the institution that he wanted. and so here we are. >> reporter: he blames his father, prince charles, who he says did nothing to break the cycle of suffering in the royal family, telling his sons to keep the traditional stiff upper lip. harry first revealing a rift with his father in that bombshell interview with oprah winfrey. >> literally cut me off financially, and i had to afford security for us. >> wait, hold up, wait a minute. your family cut you off? >> yeah. in the first half -- the first quarter of 2020. but i've got all my mom left me. and without that, we would not have been able to do this. >> reporter: and saying at one point prince charles wasn't even taking his calls. >> why did he stop taking your calls? >> because -- by that point, i took matters

into my own hands. it was like, i need to do this for my family. >> reporter: the criticism of prince charles and the british monarchy strikes some as unfair. >> i think he did his very best for his sons in the aftermath of his ex-wife's tragic death. there's a lot of responsibility on his plate as the patriarch of the royal family after the passing of the duke of edinburgh, which people seem to have forgotten whilst we hear about harry's personal problems. >> the queen has had obviously an incredibly difficult time of it over the past year. her country has seen trauma that hasn't really been seen since world war ii. she's just lost her husband of 73 years. it's got to be very difficult for her, because also, she has said harry is very much a much-loved grandson. meghan is loved. but she's also got to be queen. it's putting her into an incredibly difficult position. >> reporter: charles' troubled marriage to diana took center stage in her bombshell interview with the bbc.

>> well, there were three of us in this marriage. so it was a bit crowded. >> reporter: that 1995 interview making news again this week. diana's brother charles, the earl of spencer, alleged the bbc had gotten the interview using false pretenses, that reporter martin bashir showed him forged bank statements to suggest the two royal employees were being paid to gather information on the princess. that alleged betrayal, spencer says, convinced diana to do the interview. an independent investigation of the bbc found that devious and dishonest and deceitful behavior were used to secure the interview. prince william issuing a scathing response. >> it is my view that the deceitful way the interview was obtained substantially influenced what my mother said. the interview was a major contribution to making my parents' relationship worse. and has since hurt countless others. >> i have never seen prince william as angry as he was,

speaking about that bashir interview. william is very much traumatized by diana doing that interview, so one can only imagine how he's feeling in the moment with prince harry doing this series of interviews with oprah. >> reporter: bashir, who would leave the bbc and work at abc and nbc before eventually returning to work at the bbc says, i apologized then, and i do so again now, over the fact that i asked for bank statements t be mocked up. it was a stupid thing to do, and it was an action i deeply regret. >> diana was vulnerable, and they were taking advantage of her vulnerability. at the same time, princess diana wanted her information out. she had her own narratives. and i think she would have done, whether or not bashir and the bbc had acted the way they did. i think she would have found a medium to get her story out. >> reporter: prince harry issuing a statement saying, the ripple effect of a culture of

exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life. >> the difference between prince harry and prince william's statements were almost polar opposites. william spoke as a grieving son who wanted to get answers to a very difficult time in their lives. but of course he was also speaking almost as a representative for the royal family, he was speaking as a future king. whereas when you look at harry's, it came straight from the heart. >> reporter: on a bbc program about the investigation, earl spencer making a connection between the interview and his sister's untimely death two years later. >> i do draw a line between the two events. and i think that diana did lose trust in really key people. in the end, when she died two years later, she was without any form of real protection. >> this marriage was always going to end in divorce. the reality is diana died sadly,

tragically, a few years later in a car crash. and you cannot necessarily link the two. >> reporter: ever since he started to date meghan, harry has feared that history would repeat itself with her. he shared his fears in the itv documentary "harry and meghan: an african journey." >> everything that she went through and what happened to her is incredibly raw, every single day. that's not me being paranoid, that's just me not wanting a repeat of the past. >> reporter: his mother and meghan both under relentless scrutiny from the paparazzi. in public meghan seemed poised and confident. behind those perfect images she struggled, prince harry revealing not only was meghan having suicidal thoughts when these pictures were taken, she shared the practicalities of how she would end her life. >> we've never really heard just how hard it was during those lowest points. and to then see those images of them in front of the cameras, the glitzy dress, the holding the hands, taking the great photos -- it sort of gives us

this insight into the sometimes dark world of being a working member of the royal family, that you have to switch it on, that stiff upper lip is important if you want to survive. >> reporter: harry says he has no regrets and credits his wife for helping him finally move on from his trauma. >> we as a public have almost been with harry on this journey of self-discovery and dealing with his own grief and pain and his mental health issues. we're now getting a better idea of who he is. and i think he is, at the same time, as well. >> not only do i know that she's incredibly proud of me, but that she's helped me get here. and i've never felt her presence more as i have done over the last year. coming up next, prince harry's mental health battle and his fight to help others. you love rich, delicious ice cream. but your stomach doesn't.

well, that disagreement ends right now. lactaid ice cream is the creamy, real ice cream you love that doesn't have lactose. it'll mess with every sense you have. but it'll never mess with your stomach. lactaid ice cream. available in eight epic flavors. lactaid. real ice cream that treats you right. [♪] are you constantly cleaning and sanitizing your bathroom? lactaid. real ice cream for an easy solution that lasts, try microban24 bathroom cleaner. simply spray and wipe away to easily dissolve soap scum, and kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria initially. then reapply and allow to dry on tile to prevent mold and mildew growth for 7 days, or on countertop surfaces to keep killing bacteria for up to 24 hours. try microban24 bathroom cleaner. brand power. helping you buy better. (vo) pro plan liveclear, a breakthrough 10 years in the making

that reduces allergens in cat hair and dander. outstanding nutrition with the power to change lives. this is purina pro plan liveclear. we are thrilled we finally found our dream home in the mountains. the views are great, the air is fresh. (sfx: branches rustle) it is bear country though. hey boo-boo! we hit the jackpot! bear! bear! bear! look, corn on the cob! oohh chicken! don't mind if i do! they're hungry. t-bone! that's what i call a smorgasbord! at least geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy. they do save us a ton of money. we'll take the cobbler to go! good idea, yogi. i'm smarter than the average bear! they're gone, dad! for bundling made easy, go to geico.com.

♪ prince harry is not holding back about his struggles with his mental health. revealing to oprah how he's trauma for people around the en- world. "gma" coanchor robin roberts sat down exclusively with the duo. >> all over the world, people are in some kind of mental, psychological, emotional pain. >> reporter: oprah's now teaming up with prince harry to pull back the curtain on mental health. >> there is no shame in this. and actually, i can use any part of my own experience that might assist or help other people who have similar issues, similar

traumas. >> reporter: creating candid and intimate conversations with celebrities. >> i've been through it, and people need help. >> reporter: and everyday people, discussing the power of emotional well-being. >> the best that we can all do collectively is continue to talk and share stories that are so relatable to so many people around the world. >> storytelling. it's through people feeling comfortable, and there's something about you, my friend. it's a comfort zone. why is it so important for people to have this forum to be able to share their stories, to know that they're not alone? >> well, one of the things that prince harry and i wanted was to have people understand that mental wellness, mental fitness, is a spectrum. and that we're all on the spectrum. in the united states specifically, 1 out of 5 people admit to some kind of mental health struggle. so that means that everybody either is or knows somebody who is going through something.

so i know that one of the lessons of 25 years of listening to people's stories is that everybody wants to be heard, they want to be seen, they want to know that they matter. >> reporter: the duo detailing their creative process. >> i will have to say, harry wa usually on zoom before i was, and turning in his notes before i did. and i was like, oh! harry turned in his notes already! >> i didn't know it was a competition. now that i know -- >> every time you bought me with the notes, every time! >> oprah and i come from two very, very different worlds. >> i love in the series, we were talking about it, talking about my upbringing, being raised in rural mississippi with an outhouse. harry is like, well, i wasn't born with an outhouse, i was literally born in a castle. and we were able to find common bond with our separate stories, to share in such a way that

allows people to see themselves. >> being able to sit down and have an open conversation and to be able to be vulnerable and show the strength in vulnerability, and in doing so, encourage others to come forward. that's how we're going to break the stigma. that's how we're going to change this conversation for good. once we realize we are all in this together. if we hurt, we're going to hurt together. if we heal, we're going to heal together. >> reporter: prince harry, a champion of mental health for several years, opening up about his own journey, including the passing of his mother, princess diana. >> you were 12 years old at the time. yu didn't process it, that others who didn't even know your mother, we were able to show our grief. and you, because of the position that you were in, were not able to process that part of your life. >> there were so many people of all ages that need to heal and that also are, for one reason or another, unable to heal or maybe unaware that they need to heal. >> four years ago, only after

meeting meg did you start the process of trying to figure it out. you hadn't tried it before? >> no. i quickly established that if this relationship was going to work, that i was going to have to deal with my past. if we hold on to grief, it manifests itself and appears later in life. that is what i've learnt from this process. >> reporter: the trauma of losing a parent something zach williams, son of the late robin williams, also shares in the project. >> zach's story is a classic example. what happened with him at his age, what happened to me at my age, it's remarkably similar. it was one thing that he said on a follow-up conversation which was, his service to others has helped heal him. i think that was a really key moment for oprah, myself, and zach, when we were on a separate call, for to us go, wow, this is -- it's true, in oprah, in your career. it's been true for me, starting the invictus games, to be able

to create something, to watch other people heal, is part of our healing process. i think that compassionate element of that, putting ourselves in someone else's shoes, somehow being able to help in that healing process, is absolutely critical. >> i think lots of people have been through grief, particularly this year, have lost parents, some people have lost both parents due to covid, lost relatives, lost friends, and have not been able to grieve properly. so i think hearing someone like harry talk about it or hearing other people share how their inability to really step into the moment and do the grieving in a way that could be helpful to them at the time allows other people to see themselves. >> prince harry, can you talk a little bit more about how the pandemic has had an effect? >> i think globally, you know, we've now all had a shared experience. we've experienced something similar, albeit in different aspects and different locations

around the world. and i think whereas, you know, we were very much in sort of the fight or flight situation at the beginning of the pandemic, it was more sort of physical, it's now the emotional piece. remove all the craziness and the hecticness and busy-ness of life and put yourself in your room, by yourself, with your partner, with a kid, with all your kids. that has a profound effect on every single person. we've all felt things that we probably never felt before, and that to me says that we should now be talking about things that we've never talked about before. >> our thanks to robin. "the me you can't see" is now streaming on apple tv plus. in our home, we trust dawn antibacterial. it cuts through tough grease with 50% less scrubbing... so our dishes get cleaner, faster. even better, dawn antibacterial removes 99% of bacteria from your hands. we're cleaning now more than ever.

and that's why we trust dawn. dawn antibacterial. an easy way to clean your dishes... a smart way to wash your hands. enjoy the scents of orange and apple blossom. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ comfort in the extreme. ♪ the lincoln family of luxury suvs. ♪ i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. new crest pro-health complete protection kills 99% of bacteria.

plus, it works around... ...and around... ...and around the clock. crest pro-health complete protection gives you 24-hour protection. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america.

and that's "nightline." you can watch all our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you the same time next week. thanks for staying up with us. hope you have a wonderful weekend. enjoy the spring fever. good night, america.