Prince Harry Booed at Leicester Rugby Match
Part of the crowd at Welford Road booed the Duke of Sussex on camera, just as his MasterClass course on grieving his mother, Diana, came out.
Prince Harry was booed by part of the crowd at a rugby match in Leicester, and the Telegraph reports it was his first public appearance since returning to Britain with his family. He watched Leicester Tigers play Gloucester at Welford Road, and the cameras caught him holding a pint of beer.
The match commentator introduced him with the words: “A familiar face in the crowd, Prince Harry, back home and enjoying the rugby.” When the shot stayed on the Duke of Sussex, part of the stands booed him and the director quickly cut away. The sources do not say why he was booed. The Telegraph adds that at times during the match Harry cheered and raised his fist in the air.
When did he return to Britain, and which match was it?
The Telegraph gives neither the date of the match nor the date the family came back. Good Morning America in the US reports that Harry, Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, now live in the United Kingdom after six years in California. The available sources do not make clear how much time passed between the move and the day in the Leicester stands.
What did he say about losing his mother in the course?
On Thursday, October 8, MasterClass released a course titled “Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss,” ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10. In it, Harry talks with neuroscientist Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor of the University of Arizona. His mother, Princess Diana, died in a car crash in Paris in 1997, aged 36. Harry was 12 at the time and his brother William was 15.
Speaking about the days after news of her death, he said in the course: “I didn’t cry when I was told my mum died, only at her burial, and then not again for nearly two decades.” He added that he had forgotten what she looked like: “I couldn’t remember my mum’s laugh. I couldn’t remember what she looked like.”
A therapist, he said, suggested he find his mother’s perfume to reach memories that had been locked away.
Of the years that followed, he says: “In my 20s, I went to war twice thinking I could outrun my feelings. But that’s not what happened.” He is referring to his two tours in Afghanistan, where he served as a soldier.
Depression after the move to Canada
Harry also described what happened when he, Meghan and their son Archie moved to Canada in late 2019, after the decision to step back as senior members of the royal family. Away from the stress that had kept him running on adrenaline, he says, he suffered a sudden crash: “I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks and I felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline.”
Kurir reports the same statements and notes that he also mentioned panic attacks during royal duties. According to the same source, Harry has a rule never to be apart from his wife and children for more than 10 days. He credits therapy and family happiness for the change in his mood in recent years.
The footage from the stadium and the grief course surfaced in the same days, but none of the three sources links the booing to what Harry said in the course. Kurir calls it the most open conversation the Duke of Sussex has had so far about the death of his mother.
