In her newly published book, Princess Amalia speaks openly about her therapy experience. A number of other famous royals have also struggled with and spoken out about mental illnesses and issues.
“I don’t think it’s taboo,” says Princess Amalia, 17, of her visit to the psychologist. In her new book “Amalia”, which was published on the occasion of her approaching 18th birthday, she speaks openly about her mental health and how natural it is for her to see an expert on a regular basis. “Sometimes it all gets to be too much for me, school, friends, and then I talk to someone”.
Princess Amalia speaks for the first time about her therapy experience
As a child, her parents sent her to King Willem-Alexander, 54, and Queen Máxima, 50, for therapy. She can hardly remember it, but Amalia thinks it’s normal to “talk to a specialist every now and then” – especially considering the suicide of her aunt Inés Zorreguieta, who took her own life in 2018. A picture of her is still in Amalia’s room.
They are frank words about a topic that has been kept silent too often and far too much. Amalia is taking an important step here. In doing so, she helps to destigmatize the topic of therapy.
Even these famous royals did not shy away from going to therapy to get help for themselves and their sick souls.
Princess Victoria suffered from anorexia as a young woman
Surely many can still remember the pictures of Princess Victoria, 44, from the 1990s. They showed an extremely slim woman. An official statement from the palace on November 28, 1997 stated that Sweden’s heir to the throne was suffering from an “eating disorder” and was being “treated”.
Princess Victoria at an official event in December 1997, shortly after the announcement of her eating disorder.
© Dana Press
She went to therapy in the US. She learned to talk about her feelings, to keep boundaries and not to put too much pressure on herself, Victoria recalls in a portrait that the Swedish channel “TV4” broadcast in 2017.
Prince Harry was encouraged to seek therapy by his wife, Duchess Meghan
At the age of 12, Prince Harry, 37, lost his beloved mother, Princess Diana, †36, who died in a car accident in 1997. He later suffered from panic attacks and anxiety. He only processed the loss years later, at the age of 28, in therapy.
The experiences surrounding his resignation as a high-ranking member of the British royal family at the beginning of 2020 also affected him mentally. Speaking on actor Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, Harry revealed that Meghan encouraged him to go back into therapy.
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Princess Diana suffered from bulimia and depression
Harry’s mother Diana was also in therapy. At the time, she spoke just as openly as her son does today about her bulimia and depression. Trigger: The unhappy marriage to her former husband Prince Charles, 73, who did not love her back, the strict life in the royal palace, the pressure of the public and the media hunt.
She talked about it, among other things, in her legendary “Panorama” interview – and was the first royal member to talk about her mental illness.
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Princess Märtha Louise needed therapy to find herself
The Norwegian princess Märtha Louise, 50, described her therapy experiences to the magazine “Marie Claire”. She didn’t know who she was then; the pressure of expectation on her as a royal was too great.
“There was an abyss between me, the real Märtha and the princess I had to compete with,” explained the daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja, both 84, and also directly provided the reason: “All girls dream in childhood of being princesses, but when your parents are king and queen then you have a very different dream.” A psychologist helped her to get to know and accept herself.
Maud Angelica Behn seeks therapy after her father’s suicide
Märtha’s daughter Maud Angelica Behn, 18, has also opted for therapy. Extremely sad: The trigger was the suicide of her father Ari Behn on December 25, 2019 at the age of 47. In an interview with the women’s magazine “Tara”, the young woman said that she had worked through the tragic loss in therapy and self-help groups.
Maud is now involved in support organizations for people at risk of suicide and says: “I couldn’t stop Dad from committing suicide. But I can maybe stop others from doing it.”
Princess Mako and Empress Masako suffer under Japan’s strict monarchy
In the Japanese monarchy, mental illness is still considered a taboo subject. It’s no wonder that so far nothing has leaked out about therapy experiences. Some royals are probably suffering from this. The rules are strict, whoever marries a commoner – as in the case of Princess Mako, 30 – has to live in exile.
According to the Imperial Court Office, she developed a “post-traumatic stress disorder” due to the previous media mudslinging. Mako herself never confirmed this, only speaking at a press conference on her wedding day that she was not feeling well.
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Empress Masako, 57, suffered from not having given birth to a male heir to the throne. The Japanese Imperial Palace described her condition in 2004 as “adjustment disorders” and is said to have tried to cover up her real illness, which has never been confirmed – depression.
Sources used: rtlboulevard.nl, “Amalia” by Claudia de Breij, tv4play.se, Podcast Dax Shepard “Armchair Expert”, tara.se, marieclaire.com, kunaicho.go.jp