Many people are wondering what prompted Harry and Meghan’s exit from the spotlight. But it sounds like there could be a dark reason behind it.

The royal couple made headlines last week for revealing their plans to step back from their royal duties in lieu of a more low-key lifestyle. Prince Harry has reportedly grown increasingly concerned about the amount of negative attention his wife Meghan Markle has received since the birth of their son, particularly from UK media. Harry’s mother Princess Diana infamously died in a car accident caused by paparazzi (Harry was 12 at the time). According to sources, Harry’s biggest fear is that the media could similarly hurt his wife and son. As such, it makes sense why the couple decided to forgo life in the spotlight.

Meredith Sagan, MD, MPH, Lead Psychiatrist at TMS & Brain Health in Santa Monica, exclusively shared with Hollywood Life her theory that Harry has PTSD suffering from his mother’s tragic death. She argues that it makes complete sense why this would have motivated his exit from his royal duties.

“He does have good reason and good evidence that the media and the paparazzi is a health hazard and a danger to his own wife and son, because, indeed, he did lose his mother,” Dr. Sagan explained. “There’s no doubt about it. He will not want his own son to follow, or his own children, to follow down that same path. He would not want his own children to be without a mother like he was left because he knows what damage that did to his own life and his own past.”

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Sagan added, “Now that he has seen the media directly attacking his wife in a way that is very unsafe for her, her reputation, for the mental health of their children, and for himself, and her, he is going to protect them.” The psychiatrist agreed she believes Harry will do whatever it takes to keep his family as safe as possible, even if it means causing a rift within the royal family.

Harry and Meghan, who married in 2018, originally made their shocking announcement on January 8th via social media. Not only did they reveal their plans to split their time living evenly between North America and the UK, but they also added their desire to become “financially independent.”

“It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment,” they wrote in the now-viral social media post. “We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.”

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