Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (Photo: Chris Jackson – Pool/Getty Images)

In a new docuseries, Prince Harry opens up about his excessive drinking and drug use to cope with the external pressures that came with royalty. The Me You Can’t See, a five-part docuseries Prince Harry co-created with Oprah Winfrey to destigmatize the discussion of mental health by encouraging others to share their stories, offers a rare glimpse into the prince’s inner life – and how he navigated the untimely death of his mother. “Unfortunately, when I think about my mom, the first thing that comes to mind is always the same one over and over again,” Prince Harry says during the docuseries released today on Apple TV+. “Strapped in the car, seatbelt across, with my brother in the car as well, and my mother driving, being chased by three, four, five mopeds with paparazzi on. And then she was almost unable to drive because of the tears.”

In the series, Harry, the son of Prince Charles and Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 while being chased by photographers, says he has been going to therapy for more than four years. The Duke of Sussex says after all the emotional trauma he faced over the years he finally wanted to heal from the past. Harry’s comments about his and Meghan’s relationship, and her racist mistreatment by the British press, first took center stage in March when the couple sat down with Winfrey, in which they said the palace had raised “concerns” about the skin color of their then-unborn first child and discussed Meghan’s experience with suicidal thoughts when she was six months pregnant. “My mother was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone who wasn’t white,” Prince Harry says in the new docuseries. “You wanna talk about history repeating itself? They aren’t gonna stop until [Meghan] dies. It’s triggering to lose another woman in my life.”

“The Me You Can’t See” subsequently comes after the announcement by the BBC on Thursday that an internal investigation found journalist Martin Bashir used dishonest tactics to persuade Diana into doing the 1995 interview where she opened up about her rocky relationship with Prince Charles. Among the other celebrities who open up in the docuseries are singer Lady Gaga, San Antonio Spurs forward DeMar DeRozan and Robin Williams’ son Zak Williams. The show aims to destigmatize the discussion of mental health by encouraging others to share their candid stories.