Princess Diana’s Death Was A ‘Total Chaos’ For Prince Harry: Royal Son Took Counseling After Breakdown

Two decades after Princess Diana's death in a car crash in Paris, Prince Harry, 32, has opened up about his mental health following the incident. The prince said he went for counseling after suffering two years of "total chaos" while still struggling in his late 20s to cope up with his mother's loss, the Telegraph reported.

In an interview with the Telegraph on Sunday, Harry shared that he had shut down all his emotions for almost 20 years after losing his mother, despite his brother, Prince William, insisting that he should seek help.

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Prince Harry was just 12 years old when Princess Diana died. He revealed that the tragedy had a very serious effect on his personal as well as professional life, and living in the public eye made him feel that he could be "very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions."

"My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand. Refusing to ever think about my mum because why would that help? It's only going to make you sad. It's not going to bring her back," he said in the interview. The fifth in line to the throne turned to counselors and even took up boxing, which helped him come out of the mental agony, the Telegraph reported.

The chairman of Beyond Blue — an Australian nonprofit working to address issues associated with depression, anxiety disorders and other mental disorders — Jeff Kennett praised Prince Harry for speaking publicly about his personal struggles.

"There's a lot of men who find it very difficult to deal with marriage break-ups," Kennett reportedly said. "In the case of the Royal family not only was there a marriage break-up, but it was terribly acrimonious and then of course the loss of [Princess] Diana in that awful car accident....So no-one should be surprised that either of these two young men were not beset by demons that should have been addressed at the time."

Last week, a temporary garden named the "White Garden" was opened at Princess Diana's former London home. The floral display at the garden, which features white tulips, daffodils and scented hyacinths, is set in Kensington Palace’s sunken garden, which is next to the palace's visitor entrance. The garden was conceived and designed by Kensington Palace’s head gardener, Sean Harkin, to honor the late princess on her 20th death anniversary, People reported.