Prince Harry has revealed a strict marriage rule he and Meghan Markle follow to keep their family together.
Harry, 42, said he refuses to spend more than 10 consecutive days away from his wife and their two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. The Duke of Sussex disclosed the self-imposed limit during his appearance on a new MasterClass titled “Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss.”
“The key to finding the joy and happiness balance is no more than 10 days away from my wife and kids,” he said in the course. “This is balancing my work and the purpose behind that as well as being a dad and a husband and the sort of multi-identity elements coming together.”
The former working royal, who married Markle, 45, in May 2018, described family time as the fuel for everything else he does. “The biggest factor for me is the energy and the joy and happiness that I get being with my family, especially our kids, and the joy and happiness I get by being on the ground for my work,” he explained.
Harry’s disclosure comes as the Sussexes have reportedly returned to live in the UK six years after their dramatic departure from royal duties. The move back across the Atlantic was said to be motivated by a desire to be closer to King Charles III, who is currently battling cancer.
The couple’s exit from royal life began in late 2019, when Harry, Markle and infant Archie fled the UK for Canada. In the MasterClass, Harry opened up about the psychological toll that sudden withdrawal from a high-pressure environment took on him.
“Being in Canada, away from the stressful environment where presumably my body was just pumped full of adrenaline, within two or three days, I experienced this adrenaline crash, something that I’d never experienced before,” he shared.
The father of two described a two-week spiral that left him feeling incapacitated. “I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks and I felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline,” he added.
Harry said he came to a troubling realization about how his body had adapted to constant stress. “I needed stress in order to get the adrenaline to make my brain function because I became useless around the house,” he explained.
The family of three’s Canadian sojourn was brief. By January 2020, Harry and the former “Suits” actress announced they were quitting the royal family to pursue what they termed a “progressive new role.” That June, Lilibet was born, expanding their family to four.
The 10-day rule represents a hard boundary in Harry’s current approach to work-life integration, one that appears designed to prevent the kind of disconnection he experienced during that Canadian interlude. His comments suggest the policy is as much about his own psychological wellbeing as it is about family cohesion.
Harry and Markle’s marriage has weathered intense public scrutiny since their 2018 wedding at Windsor Castle, followed by their unprecedented withdrawal from senior royal duties and relocation to California. The couple have since built independent careers through media production, philanthropy and public speaking.
The MasterClass appearance marks another step in Harry’s ongoing public discussion of mental health, grief and personal transformation. His willingness to discuss his Canadian depression adds new context to a period that has been widely reported but rarely examined from his own perspective.
The family now appears to be resettling in Britain, though details of their living arrangements and Harry’s upcoming professional commitments remain closely watched. The Duke’s adherence to his 10-day limit may face fresh tests as he balances transatlantic obligations with his stated priority of proximity to his children and wife.