Prince Harry Opens Up About Why He Stepped Away From The Royal Family

Prince Harry discussed his decision to step away from the Royal Family on The Late Late Show with James Corden Thursday night.

The interview aired a week after The Royal Family announced that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, were officially finished acting as working royals.

Harry told James Corden that the whole situation was never walking away, it was “stepping back rather than stepping down.”

“It was a really difficult environment as I think a lot of people saw. We all know what the British press can be like. It was destroying my mental health,” he said. “This is toxic, so I did what any husband and what any father would do which is ‘I need to get my family out of here,’ but we never walked away.”

Harry said he will never walk away from his family or a life committed to service.

“I’ll always be contributing. My life is public service so wherever I am in the world it’s going to be the same thing,” he said.

He said him and Meghan are “trying to bring some compassion and trying to make people happy and trying to change the world in any small way that we can.”

Buckingham Palace announced last week that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were officially no longer working Royals. This means they no longer have royal involvement with their UK charities. This comes almost a year after Harry and his wife announced they were stepping back from Royal responsibilities.

In response to Buckingham Palace’s statement, the Duke and Duchess released their own statement through a spokesperson.

“ (They) remain committed to their duty and service to the U.K. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role. We can all live a life of service. Service is universal,” read the statement.

Markle recently won a lawsuit against the British tabloid The Mail on Sunday for a breach of privacy.

Prince Harry and Markle announced this month that they are expecting their second child.