Harry was paid ‘up to $100K’ for coping with grief ‘masterclass’: Prince pocketed fee as a ‘co-instructor’ and could get share of subscriptions as he revealed ‘depression’ after Megxit

DAILYMAIL.COM • 5h ago

By MARTIN ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER 10:37 09 Oct 2026, updated 11:40 09 Oct 2026

Prince Harry may have pocketed $100,000 plus a share of subscription revenues for his 99-minute ‘masterclass’ on grief.

The Duke of Sussex gave a raw and emotional account of dealing with the death of his mother Princess Diana, as well as his struggles with depression and feelings of uselessness following Megxit, in the online seminar.

A source close to the prince told the Daily Mail: ‘I’d encourage everyone to watch it before casting any judgment,’ adding he should not be criticised at length for ‘speaking from the heart’.

A spokesman for Harry confirmed he was paid by MasterClass – which gets celebrity experts and industry icons to teach pre-recorded classes about their craft, art or business – for taking part in Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss but they declined to comment further.

MasterClass instructors can expect an upfront payment of at least $100,000 (£75,500), plus 30 per cent of any subscription revenue generated by their courses, according to Forbes.

Harry is listed as a co-instructor alongside American neuroscientist Dr Mary-Frances O’Connor, where they hope the class will help viewers ‘discover new ways to process grief and loss so you can find your way back to you’.

Access to the full online lecture costs between £10 and £19 a month through a subscription to the San Francisco-based tech company, which is valued at $2.75billion.

A source close to Harry reportedly said no one has the right to judge him for how he has dealt with the grief of losing his mother at the age of 12 and added that the interview with Dr O’Connor was simply Harry speaking ‘from the heart’ about his life and family, according to royal reporter Tom Sykes.

MasterClass stars in the past have included Martin Scorsese, Gordon Ramsay, Serena Williams and Hillary Clinton.

In his interview Harry revealed he felt depressed and ‘useless’ immediately after Megxit, and now refuses to spend more than ten days away from Meghan and their children.

In a new video released yesterday, the Duke of Sussex claims life in the Royal Family left him unable to properly grieve the death of Diana, adding his official duties triggered panic attacks.

Harry, 42, said getting dressed for royal engagements in a shirt and tie frequently left him feeling as though he was being strangled or suffocated.

‘You would think I had the best help in the world. I’m a prince, for God’s sake, but I was still grieving and didn’t have any place to put those feelings,’ he said, describing emotions he carried for ’15 or 20 years’.

He revealed therapy eventually helped him and described the extraordinary moment when spraying himself with Diana’s perfume prompted his hidden memories and emotions to come flooding back.

Speaking about grief in a video for the American education platform MasterClass, Harry said despite finding happiness with Meghan, he ‘slipped into depression’ after they quit royal life and left Britain.

‘We moved to Canada to get some space away from everything and simply think,’ he said. ‘Within two or three days of leaving that stressful environment, I experienced an adrenaline crash unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

‘It was as though I needed stress for my brain to function. I became useless around the house. I slipped into depression for about two weeks and felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline.’

His frank comments about mental health and PTSD came as Meghan stepped back into the spotlight for the first time in years, wearing a £28,000 outfit to take afternoon tea with Malala Yousafzai in London.

Six years on from Megxit, the Sussexes are parents to two children, Archie and Lilibet, and are back in the UK again. The children have started school in the Cotswolds.

And Harry now says that he follows a strict ‘ten-day’ rule to protect his happiness.

He said: ‘The biggest factor for me is the energy, joy and happiness I get from being with my family, especially our children, and from being on the ground doing my work.

‘The key to maintaining that balance is spending no more than ten days away from my wife and kids.

‘It’s about balancing my work and sense of purpose with being a dad and a husband.’

Harry revealed he did not cry for almost 20 years after his mother’s death and thinks of her ‘pretty much every night and then most mornings’.

A therapist encouraged him to find Diana’s perfume in an effort to unlock his grief after he had forgotten what her voice and laugh sounded like.

The Duke said doing this had a remarkable effect on him and his grief, claiming the scent brought back memories and emotions that had long been suppressed.

‘It was like being transported to another time,’ Harry said. ‘It unlocked everything that had been locked away.

‘Spraying my mother’s scent was almost like knocking certain bricks through so that I could see through and certain memories and experiences could start seeping back.’

In the very personal MasterClass episode Harry also said: ‘Everything I do, everything I put my energy towards, I hope that my mother will be proud of.

‘Trying to continue and protect her legacy, what I didn’t realise was that the work I was drawn to was so similar to the work she was doing.’

Speaking to Dr O’Connor ahead of World Mental Health Day on Saturday, Harry added that after marrying Meghan and becoming a father, he often felt guilty about allowing himself to be happy.

The interview comes weeks after the publication of his uncle’s memoir about Diana, which reignited debate about her legacy and included claims that angered the King.

Earl Spencer claimed in one angry phone call Charles told him Diana would soon be forgotten after she died in Paris in 1997.

Reflecting on his mother’s death, Harry said: ‘I didn’t cry when I was told my mum died, only at her burial, and then not again for nearly two decades.

‘I was convinced that was strength, but it wasn’t. It was a 12-year-old boy with no permission to fall apart and no roadmap for how to heal.

‘I’d spent so long emotionally numb because I felt disloyal and guilty at the possibility of being happy without her. I felt I had to stay sad and emotionally shut down to prove I missed her.’

Harry has explained how therapy transformed his outlook, saying: ‘The reality is that what I discovered was that she just wanted me to be happy.

‘That was a huge mental shift for me. It freed me and gave me a completely different outlook on life.’

Harry also said that joining the Army gave him a sense of purpose.

‘For 15 or 20 years, when people asked, “Are you okay?” my answer was always, “I’m fine.” It was numbness. It was emotional shutdown.

‘Without realising it, adrenaline was driving me. It was the force that led me to join the military at 20. It was the perfect distraction.’

The Duke said he increasingly withdrew from his friends and social life during those years, explaining how he ‘was much more comfortable sitting at home’.

Harry added that he struggled to find help at first.

‘Unfortunately, a number of general practitioners weren’t equipped to help me. It was a case of receiving advice or being offered a pill.

‘I was completely against taking medication. I followed the advice but it wasn’t making any difference, so I kept searching for something that would work.’

He described his deployment to Afghanistan as life-changing.

‘The things I saw and experienced appeared to trigger other traumas that had been stored within me,’ he said.

Harry said therapy eventually gave him the ‘permission to grieve’.

‘Sitting in a room with a complete stranger and having the confidence and trust to open myself up,’ he said.

The Duke, who in his book Spare admitted taking a number of illegal drugs in his life, praised psychedelic-assisted therapy – a type of treatment that has split doctors.

Magic mushrooms, MDMA and ketamine are used to change the brain rather than treat symptoms of depression and PTSD with common anti-depressants.

He said: ‘To combine conventional therapy with modern day medicines breaks down those walls and those barriers to be able to open yourself up and go deeper than you would ever dare to go.

‘Psychedelic assisted therapy is no longer a fringe idea or thought. It’s really becoming, I think, mainstream.’

Prince Harry reveals he ‘slipped into depression’ after Megxit as he opens up in candid interview…

Meghan steps into the limelight: Duchess leaves Claridge’s wearing £28,000 outfit accompanied by…

Humiliated Polanski on brink of the sack after losing by-election as he faces ‘Zionism is Racism’…

Andrew WINS High Court battle as police admit raids on Sandringham and Windsor were unlawful – but…

Pentagon reveals firing squad execution of Fort Hood terrorist will be livestreamed

Millions of residents across UK to be banned from charging electric cars on streets outside their…

Toddler Star Hobson’s mother is released from prison six years after she allowed the 16-month-old to…

Jane Doe’s texts to ‘Cornell 7’ frat boy after alleged rape are revealed: ‘My memory is super…

‘She is very conscious about how she wants pictures to land’: Inside THAT lunch between Meghan and…

Moment two credit card fraudsters are caught swindling a Scottish cafe out of £425 over a hot…

Robert Jenrick says ‘millions and millions’ of people in England are not ‘culturally or ethnically’…

Moment ‘sexually obsessed killer stepdad’ arrives at 19-year-old university student’s halls of…

Katie Price contacted social services saying she feared her ex-husband Kieran Hayler had groomed…

Celebrity plastic surgeon is executed in front of customers in Marbella clinic after ‘threats from a…

Shocking moment nurse switches off severely disabled 13-year-old girl’s life-saving ventilator for…

Villagers plunged into near ‘constant darkness’ after trees planted by primary school children grow…

Harry was paid ‘up to $100K’ for coping with grief ‘masterclass’Comments are subject to our House rules and TermsNewest{{#isModerationStatus}}{{moderationStatus}}

No one seems to have shared their thoughts on this topic yetLeave a comment so your voice will be heard first.

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{#replies.comments}}{{^isLast}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/isLast}}{{#isLast}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/isLast}}{{/replies.comments}}{{/replies.totalCount}}{{^replies.totalCount}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/replies.totalCount}}{{/isComment}}The opinions and views expressed in the comments section are solely those of the individual users and do not represent or reflect the opinions, views, or positions of MailOnline. MailOnline does not endorse, support, or verify the accuracy of any user-generated content.Terms|Privacy|FeedbackOldest{{#isModerationStatus}}{{moderationStatus}}