Prince Harry admits taking drugs and regularly ‘drinking a week’s worth in one day’ to mask Diana pain

PRINCE Harry has admitted to taking drugs and regularly "drinking a week's worth of alcohol in one day" to "mask the pain" of his mum Diana's death.

, 36, opened up about his struggles with his mental well-being and the trauma that haunts him after the death of mother  in the documentary The Me You Can't See.

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Harry launched blistering attacks on his close relatives in another interview with Oprah Winfrey - and even admitted to past drug use and booze binges to escape from his anguish.

The Prince says he was never given the space or the time to really mourn his mother's death, and that led him to eventually try drinking and drugs to numb his lingering pain.

Harry said he would try to "feel less" of what he was feeling and would abstain from drinking all week and then drink "a week's worth" in one sitting as a coping mechanism.

"I was willing to drink, I was willing to take drugs, I was willing to try and do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling", the Duke admits.

"But I slowly became aware that, okay, I wasn't drinking Monday to Friday, but I would probably drink a week's worth in one day on a Friday or a Saturday night.

"And I would find myself drinking, not because I was enjoying it but because I was trying to mask something."

Prince Harry speaks about:

• Prince Charles not 'making it right' for him and brother Prince William after their mother's car crash death in 1997
• Turning to drinking and drugs in his late 20s, admitting: 'I would drink a week's worth in one day'
• The public being allowed to mourn his mother Princess Diana, while he was not
• How he's convinced the media 'will not stop' until wife Meghan Markle 'dies'
• How Meghan resisted suicidal thoughts because she knew it would be 'unfair' for Harry to lose another woman in his life
• How some of Archie's first words were "grandma Diana"

When he was 17, Harry was reportedly sent to rehab by Charles after he was caught smoking cannabis.

St James's Palace later confirmed that Harry had "experimented with the drug on several occasions" but said he was not a "regular" user.

The  was released on Apple TV in the US on Thursday night and the UK this morning.

Harry revealed that he's been in therapy for "four or five years" - while also opening up about turning his back on Britain and his family to "break the cycle" of grief being passed down the generations.

The Duke blasted his dad Charles - .

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He says: "My father used to say to me when I was younger, he used to say to both  and I, 'Well, it was like that for me so it’s going to be like that for you.'

"That doesn’t make sense. Just because you suffered, that doesn’t mean your kids have to suffer. Actually quite the opposite.

"If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences you had, you can make it right for your kids."

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call The Samaritans for free any time, even on a mobile without credit, on 116123.

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