Despite recent jabs from Comedy Central’s animated series South Park at him and Meghan Markle, Prince Harry does not consider himself a victim.
“I certainly don’t see myself as a victim,” the Duke of Sussex, 38, said during an online chat with Dr. Gabor Maté on Saturday to discuss his recently released memoir, “Spare”.
Harry added that by writing his book, he feels he is performing a public service.
“I’m really grateful to be able to share my story in the hopes that it will help, empower, encourage others and, hopefully, let people understand — again back to the human experience — [that] we are in some shape and form all connected, especially through trauma,” the California-based royal told the Hungarian-Canadian physician.
South Park purportedly parodied the memoir as ‘Waaagh,’ depicting the ‘Prince and Princess of Canada’ seeking guidance from a public relations specialist whose brand strategies all suggested his clients position themselves as victims.
The show also hinted at the couple asking for privacy while discussing their private affairs.
Regardless of what South Park thinks, the Duke claims he has never sought compassion from people, saying, “I do not and have never looked for sympathy in this.”
The father of two said that when he first embarked on the journey of writing his memoir, he told his publishing team that he wanted it to “be an act of service.”
“I know how important it is to share these stories; how you can save a life and improve lives because you’re almost giving people permission to talk about their own stuff and be themselves,” he added.
The British prince also pointed out that while he may have “lost a lot” from quitting the royal alongside his wife, Meghan Markle, in 2020, at the same time, he’s “gained a lot.”
“To see my kids growing up here, the way that they are, I just can’t imagine how that would have been possible back in that environment,” Harry said.
“The way that I understand it is you can try your best every day to not hand on any traumas that you have as a parent, but if you’re still stuck within the same environment, it kind of feels self-defeating.
Harry also admitted that he was hesitant to unpack the trauma surrounding his mother Princess Diana’s death at age 12, revealing that he thought going to a therapist would cause him to lose whatever he “had left” of his mother, but he was relieved to find that wasn’t true.
“It turns out that wasn’t the case — it was the opposite,” Harry explained, adding he learned Diana “wanted me to be happy and that was a huge weight off my chest.”
