Prince Harry wanted to quit royal family in his 20s saying ‘look what it did to my mum’ Princess Diana

The Duke of Sussex, 36, claimed he “didn’t want the job” after what it “did to my mum” in a bombshell podcast with actor Dax Shepard.

Prince Harry revealed he wanted to quit the royal family 15 years before Megxit because he was concerned over what it “did to my mum”.

The Duke of Sussex, 36, claimed he “didn’t want the job” in a bombshell podcast with actor Dax Shepard.

Harry said he wanted to leave the Firm back when he was in his 20s, years before he met Meghan Markle.

He quit the UK last year for a new life in the US with Meghan and son Archie after the couple stepped down as senior royals.

When asked about his trips as a royal around the Commonwealth, Harry told the Armchair Expert podcast: “It’s the job right? Grin and bear it, get on with it.

“In my early 20s, it was a case of, I don’t want this job. I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to be doing this, look what it did to my mum.

“How am I ever going to settle down, have a wife and a family when I know that it’s going to happen again?

Prince Harry said he didn’t want to be a royal in his 20s after ‘what it did to my mum’ Princess Diana. Picture: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

“Because I know, I’ve seen behind the curtain. I’ve seen the business model, I know how the operation runs and how it works, and I don’t want to be a part of this.”

Harry also spoke candidly about his experience with therapy as he opened up about his mental health. He said that once he started seeing a professional, the “bubble burst”.

Harry added: “I plucked my head out of the sand, gave it a good shake off, and I was like, OK. You are in this position of privilege, stop complaining, stop thinking as though you want something different, make this different.

“Because you can’t get out. So how are you going to do this differently, how are you going to make your mum proud, how are you going to use this platform to really affect change and be able to give people that confidence to be able to change their own lives?”

Harry has previously spoken out about Megxit — telling chat show juggernaut Oprah Winfrey he never would have quit if it wasn’t for Meghan.

The duke said he “didn’t see a way out” of the Firm in the explosive interview and claimed he was “trapped”.

Harry revealed he was unhappy in the role well before meeting Meghan Markle. Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas / Pool / AFP

Harry’s comments today came as he spoke to Dax and co-host Monica Padman for their award-winning Spotify podcast.

He compared his life to the film The Truman Show and said he relates to Jim Carey’s character, who has every second of his life scrutinised and broadcast to the world.

He said he is targeted with “vile and toxic abuse” by trolls, and tries to have “compassion” for them, but finds it “really hard when you’re on the receiving end”.

Asked about what life was like as a royal, and how it compared to representations of princes and princesses in movies, he said he didn’t believe in the “old way of thinking” where girls just “want to be a princess”.

The prince praised his wife’s “most amazing explanation” after she told him: “You can create the life that will be better than any princess”.

Harry also revealed how he and Meghan first met up in a supermarket — and pretended they didn’t know each other to avoid attracting attention.

He said the couple ‘pretended they didn’t know each other’ during a supermarket rendezvous. Picture: Toby Melville - WPA Pool/Getty Images

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The pair went to great lengths to keep their relationship and trips across the globe a secret from the world until October 2016, when news first broke they were an item.

He saud that the couple did their best to stay “incognito” during their first dates in London.

Asked by Dax if he had ever done “mundane things” as a royal, such as go to the supermarket, he responded: “The first time Meghan and I met up for her to come and stay with me, we met up in a supermarket in London, pretending we didn’t know each other, texting each other from the other side of the aisles.

“There’s people looking at me, giving me all these weird looks, and coming up to me and saying ‘hi’.

“I texted her saying “is this the right one”, and she said “no you want parchment paper”, and I’m like, “where’s the parchment paper?”

Meghan was seen leaving a Whole Foods store in Kensington in 2016 — but it is not known if this is where the couple first met up. Picture: Ben Stansall / AFP

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“I had baseball cap on, looking down at the floor, trying to stay incognito. It’s amazing how much chewing gum you see, it’s a mess!”

In November 2016, Meghan was spotted leaving a Whole Foods store in Kensington — but it is not known if this is where the couple first met up.

The Duke also revealed that life had felt “more free” since his move to LA with Meghan.

He continued: “Living here now I can actually lift my head and actually I feel different, my shoulders have dropped, so has hers, you can walk around feeling a little bit more free.

“I can take Archie on the back of my bicycle. I never had the chance to do that.”

The pair went on a series of dates after they first met, as Meghan, now 39, sampled British life without anyone knowing she had fallen for the prince.

That June and July she went to Wimbledon, watching close pal Serena Williams, and even visiting Buckingham Palace as a tourist.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and is published here with permission.