The Guardian: Prince Harry at 40

[TallerSally]

Somewhat more even-keeled coverage of Prince Harry at 40 from Caroline Davies at The Guardian.

Arguably understated quite a few of Harry's recent achievements, eg Spare being the 2023 Nr 1 UK bestseller, or the phenomenal growth of Harry's Invictus Games which will now have 25 countries participating in Whistler/Vancouver February 2025. Little or no mention of the numerous awards Harry has won, eg most recently his ESPY Pat Tilman Award for Service and being named a Living Legend of Aviation, etc.

Anyway, nice to see an attempt at painting a more balanced, perhaps less hysterically rabidly negative picture...

Enjoy!

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/sep/14/prince-harry-at-40-the-difference-a-decade-has-made-to-the-dukes-life

LemonyPickles · Today 12:15

If MN Royal Family did awards, your post would be up there in the nominations. It's just phenomenal, but for all the wrong reasons.

Funny, though!😂

Loving all the Spinal Tap references. I have found my people.

Lovely post, thanks for making a positive contribution to the discussion! 👏

So many people are hugely grateful to men such as Harry that are unrelentingly talking about mental health and attempting to destigmatize it, for the benefit of teenagers, parents, men and the wider public who are still grappling with its complexities and the reality of how widespread a concern it is/should be.

The mosquito-like negative buzzing around Harry's endeavours is extremely easily ignored - as is obvious from the coverage, there are PLENTY of people all around the world who are HUGELY appreciative of what Harry and other mental health campaigners such as him are doing!

Good point, thanks Grouchy.

Like many mental health issues, I wonder whether there's a spectrum here, as in at one end of it there is a lot individuals have agency to enact, to maintain their mental well-being.

Clearly, at the other end of the spectrum are medical conditions, some which have a genetic component (schizophrenia, bipolar etc) and which require interventions that are clearly within the remit of the healthcare system.

So I'd agree, it could be misleading to attempt to label the entire spectrum "mental fitness"...

'Mental fitness' does not destimatize 'mental health', it's the same thing. The subject that really needs destigmatizing is mental illness.

One of the problems with untrained amateurs taking about mental anything is that they treat everything the same and think everything can be treated the same. Services like Better Up, Counsellors, online support etc are fine if you are going through a dip in your mental health/ fitness, if you are under stress or feeling sad. But if you are in the throws of a mental illness: clinical depression, diagnosed anxiety disorder, bipolar, schizophrenia, etc they are useless and best and harmful for many.

Serious mental illness needs medically trained psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, doctors, not an online check and instructions to go for a walk or learn how to breathe.

Those things are not bad and they are helpful for maintaining mental health but they do nothing for when you are seeing demons in the trees. When you are under a compulsion to harm yourself. I could give other examples but they would be too outing.

I'm sure Harry means well but he has no medical training and he needs to be clear about what he can offer; suggestions for supporting your mental wellbeing and what he is not qualified to talk about; managing mental illness.

This subject is really close to home for me and I get on a bit of a soap box. It's also too complex for one online comment. But the problems I'm drawing with a very broad brush are not limited to Harry but in the wider society and it's approach to mental health and mental illness. There has been progress in talking about some things but others are being either ignored or trivialised.

There was a mention of the work of the Archewell Foundation.

Other than giving a few grants, what has it actually done ?

Was there any substantive discussion of the early progress of the Parents Network?

Thanks. I think we're saying the same thing - particularly in relation to the spectrum of severity of mental health conditions.

I agree it would help Harry's and others' messages to the lay public (I think if you looked at their services, they do clearly position themselves at the "wellness" end of the spectrum) to make the above point crystal clearly.

That said, there is HUGE value, in my opinion, from having lay people act as a bridge, as it were, between mental health professionals and the public. Particularly if such people can draw upon their own personal experiences which are relatable to the target audience - eg in Harry's case, men who might be struggling with extreme grief or addiction or PTSD etc, and feeling paralysed and unable to or unaware of how to seek help.

I suspect this is why Harry is having the impact he is having, and being invited left right and centre to talk about mental health, including at the World Health Organisation (WHO), who, I should imagine, staff professionals who know a thing or two about health.

I do think it's good for anyone in the public eye to be open about the need for good mental health and supportive practises. I haven't read it but I hope James Middleton's book is equally good in raising the profile.

Harry being open about his mental health struggles is great. But it's when he starts speaking as if he is an expert that I get frustrated. He needs to learn to step back at that point and signpost people who have more than their own experience to go by. I was once approached by an acquaintance and put in front of a total stranger with the words

"Mrs Leon had post natal depression, she can help you. "

But I couldn't because I can only speak of my experience and what helped me, I have no training to even begin to be able to help others.

I think Harry would be more effective if he learned the limits of what he can do to help and instead platformed people who can take things further. So go to an event like this, do a short introduction and hand over to someone who is qualified to speak (and I would say that to many celebrities who do the same thing, it isn't just him. )

Fair, but I think you underestimate the training Harry has evidently been through in the past several years, through his work with the Invictus Foundation, Travalyst, BetterUp etc, and through training he may have had that we know nothing aout.

There is a space between ordinary 'survivors' that have experienced mental health conditions and professional psychologists and psychiatrists - a sort of counselling / therapy space.

And I don't even think Harry is claiming to be a trained counsellor or therapist.

I do think he is highly credible in the space between 'survivor' and counsellor/therapist, and again, I believe this is the reason why he is such a successful mental wellness advocate.

His main credibility gap comes from his own description of his inability to help his own wife when she was in crisis with suicidal ideation.

He took her out to an engagement that very evening. He did not get relevant professionals in to help (either through the Medical Household, her own team at the Portland or via recommendation from his own therapists). Instead he left her floundering - she was still able to act and spoke to HR (totally the wrong department, so of course they could not help). He could and should have made sure she knew the right people to call.

I don't think Travelyst is relevant to MH issues.

And AFAIK, the Invictus Games signposts and uses specialists - it knows sport has healing powers in myriad ways, but does not position itself as expert in MH.

We really don't see much of what he does with Better Up - that might be the area where he might have learned more. But as PP said, there is nothing to suggest he has had any training from them. And I don't remember seeing anything about what he actually does for them.

I think he is credible when he is speaking of his personal experiences, the army, losing a parent, etc. Sharing his experiences is valuable. I haven't ever heard him say anything that indicates a wider understanding of the vast spectrum of human experience in the area of mental health/ illness. Everything seems viewed through the lens of his own experience. This is the point at which I believe he needs to turn to focus to experts.

Listening to stories and experiences, which he has done a lot through his various charities, doesn't necessarily mean he has increased his knowledge base other than anecdotally.

I'm not trying to diminish his contribution, just saying how I think he could increase his impact.

Better ask Better Up ex employees what they think of that org. Not much, from what I've read. It operates like an MLM cult.

Harry's model of mental health "help" is to forever dwell on the past, never learn or grow from it, throw blame about left right and centre but never look inwards at his own responsibility for how his life has panned out, and to misuse drink and drugs to get him through. No thanks. He's dangerous, especially for children with MH difficulties. They can learn nothing from him.

Mistaking celebrity draw with expertise is the height of folly.

Mostly agree, but my view is Harry's made a good start.

I suspect none of us have heard any of his full speeches, nor spent any of the in-person time he spends with the many people he meets from Invictus participants to Scotty's Little Soldiers (children of deceased military), so aren't in any position to gauge his level of expertise on the spectrum of mental health conditions.

He isn't coming across to me as oversimplifying, but if he is to others (the subset who are able to be rational about him, of course 😂), that is indeed something he and others absolutely need to watch out for, and address.

Let's recall that often Harry's audience is people who know very little about mental health conditions, and therefore are learning how to walk, as it were, before learning to pole-vault.

@MrsLeonFarrell You are totally right. My ADHD was misdiagnosed for years by doctors who had very little understanding of ND and assumed I had a mental illness. I was told I was depressed, had anxiety, PND. I actually kind of hate the ‘wellness’ industry now because for a long time I was made to feel that I wasn’t fixing myself because I wasn’t doing yoga or taking supplements (none of which would have helped BTW). Rank amateurs with all the good will in the world but no proper training can do an awful lot of damage accidentally.

Christ alive. There are literally no words.

Lovely post, thanks for making a positive contribution to the discussion! 👏

Are you for real? Why would you quote this source suggesting it has any clout? It's just a randomer's wordpress post - you might as well have posted something from on here. JP Caonabo is just a self declared 'sussex defender' - take a look at their hater Twitter.

Bit more due dligence needed.....

Crossed posts @RocketsMagnificent7

Except these ones;

In the end the truth always sets you free.

No amount of negative stirring of opinion changes his trajectory nor his heart led purpose. England’s beautiful boy. The world’s beautiful man. We've got you Harry. In the end the truth always sets you free.

Bloody hell.
I thought the pro-H&Ms didn't approve of sycophancy and metaphorical bowing and scraping.
I'm glad I've got a strong stomach - I'm just about to have my supper.

I'm sure Harry means well but he has no medical training and he needs to be clear about what he can offer; suggestions for supporting your mental wellbeing and what he is not qualified to talk about; managing mental illness.
Absolutely.

I think people who are not experts but who have personal experience with depression etc, or mental illness, can help a lot by sharing their stories, which can make others feel less alone. They can be understanding, supportive, all those things. But that's about where it ends.

I talked candidly about my PND with the people around me. It helped ME a lot; sharing my problems and having the support of the people around me. But it also helped other women who hadn't felt able to mention their struggles. That's the value of Harry talking about his experiences.

It's not even objectively true. We've all seen him without any clothes on. He's not even remotely pretty. And why to Wales, Scotland and N Ireland get away with not having to own this tosser?

But where is the value in a man who is stuck as a 12 year old, has not grown/learned/thrived at all from his experiences, is full of anger, takes drink and drugs to deal with life and makes enemies and mistakes galore? How does such a person inspire others?

Christmas is coming up. If anyone is looking for a present for LemonyPickles, I have just the thing!

I don't disagree with that. I think it was helpful back when he started talking about it (before everything went down...) but so much of what he has done since then has changed things.

😂