Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey to host ‘town hall discussion’ on the topic of mental health tonight

Set to welcome a panel of experts as well as some of the guests that featured in their original docuseries – Hollywood actress Glenn Close and singer Lady Gaga amongst them – the episode will premiere on Apple TV+ tonight. Free to watch, it will centre on all things mental health with both Harry and Oprah speaking to a number of different people as they try to establish an answer to the question, where do we go from here?

Already having spoken candidly about his own mental health struggles, the Duke of Sussex has been quite vocal about his feelings towards the royal family as of late. First sitting down with Oprah for an exclusive 90-minute interview back in March, he was joined by Meghan Markle with the couple dropping some fairly shocking revelations throughout the special. In fact, the interview proved to be so popular that over 725,000 people tuned in to watch it on RTÉ 2 – making it the channel’s most-watched programme so far this year. 

Continuing to maintain an open conversation with the well-known chat show host, Harry has been very forthcoming about how his childhood experiences have affected him in later life. Accusing the royal family of “total silence, total neglect” on last week’s The Me You Can’t See episode, Harry also admitted that he even turned to drugs and alcohol to help him cope with his mother’s loss. Telling Oprah that both he and Meghan “spent four years trying to make it work” but to no avail, the couple were not shy when revealing why they really decided to step back as senior members of the royal family – with that extending to Meghan’s desperate pleas for help to the royal family’s “concerns” over Archie’s skin colour.

Giving viewers a brief outline of what to expect from tonight’s discussion, a post on the Apple TV+ website reads, “following the global debut of the groundbreaking documentary series, The Me You Can’t See: A Path Forward, Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry reunite with advisors and participants for a thought-provoking, wide-ranging conversation about mental health and emotional well-being, and where we go from here. As the subjects offer further insight into their stories, experts share their guidance for continuing the global conversation.” Later adding that the episode will see Harry and Oprah “guide honest discussions about mental health and emotional well-being”, it’s hoped that the episode will facilitate ongoing conversations around the topic of mental health. 

Set to feature appearances from the likes of Glenn Close, mental health advocate and speaker Zak Williams (the late Robin Williams’ son) and author/counsellor Ambar Martinez amongst others, it’s also believed that Meghan Markle will join her husband for the discussion as well.

Feature image via @oprah.