Duke’s childhood spiritual guide expresses concern over ongoing emotional turmoil and royal estrangement
Prince Harry’s emotional struggles show no signs of easing, according to Canon Angela Tilby, the Duke of Sussex’s former spiritual mentor, who has issued a stark reflection on his mental state and estrangement from the royal family.
In a powerful piece for The Church Times titled “Prince Harry Should Heed,” Tilby voiced concern for the man she once knew as a troubled but hopeful teenager. “I grieve for that ginger-topped teenager I once preached to,” she wrote.
Now 75, the Anglican priest described Harry as “a decent man” but said he remains trapped by the emotional weight of his past. “So far, he has found no way to switch off the trauma in his head,” she said, pointing to the profound impact of losing his mother, Princess Diana, and the symbolic trauma of walking behind her coffin as a child.
While acknowledging that public criticism of Harry and Meghan Markle has often been “vulgar and cruel,” Tilby suggested the Duke’s ongoing rift with his family is now mostly the result of his own actions. She singled out his memoir Spare as a damaging move that only “worsened his alienation” from the royals.
Tilby’s comments come in the wake of Harry’s bombshell interview with the BBC, which followed a significant legal loss in the UK. Her remarks highlight a painful truth: that even after stepping away from royal life, Harry continues to grapple with unresolved trauma and the consequences of his decisions.
As someone who once stood close to the prince in his youth, Tilby’s words serve as both a lament and a warning—that until Harry finds a way to heal, his suffering may continue to define him.
