Prince Harry appears at virtual summit for his employer mental health start up Better Up

Prince Harry said he now sees ‘bad stuff’ as ‘lessons from the universe’ after regularly seeing a life coach as he made his first appearance of the year at a virtual summit for his employer, mental health startup BetterUp this evening.

The Duke of Sussex, 38, who is currently living in his $14 million mansion in California with Meghan Markle, 40, having stepped back from royal duty, spoke on a virtual panel alongside CEO Alexi Robichaux and the Duchess’ friend, Serena Williams. 

During the summit, Harry and Serena joked about ‘chatting for hours’ as they spoke about their close bond, while the  tennis star also revealed how the Duke acts as a life coach for her.          

The father-of-two, who was showcasing a new shorter hair cut at the event, waxed lyrical about the importance of ‘taking time for inner work’ and offered his business advice to employers to give ‘everyone time to focus on themselves’ during the work day.

Harry said: ‘From an employer perspective, you can’t expect your people to put in the work on themselves when you’re not giving them the time to do that.’ 

Later, the Duke spoke about being taught ‘lessons from the universe’, saying: ‘Life is about learning right? If you think you’ve got it sorted, than bad stuff is going to happen. 

‘There’s a lesson here, “I’m being schooled by the universe. Next time it happens, I’m going to be more resilient and can see a way around it to achieve the ultimate goal”. 

As the session came to a close, Harry went on to reveal how he sees his BetterUp coach, who act as a mental health mentor for individuals and businesses, regularly.

After plugging the service, he joked to the CEO: ‘Maybe you should just put me on the coaching board as well, Alexi?’  

While Harry receives a salary from BetterUp, the firm has not disclosed how much he is paid or if he owns shares or stock options.   

The summit was just the latest in personal insights given by the Duke. Last year, he gave a series of bombshell interviews, in which he revealed an astonishing rift with his father as well as accusing an unnamed Royal Family member of racism. 

In the summit, Prince Harry was introduced by BetterUp’s CEO Alexi as being ‘one of the bravest advocates for mental fitness.’

The Duke began by stating how many viewers watching might be considering when they could fit mental fitness into their day, saying: ‘I’ll start by the intro you had there was amazing – what most people watching this will question is, “What about my time? Those are all amazing things, I would love to be able to do all those things, but I don’t have the time in my day.”

‘If you’ve got work or every element of our life…it becomes busier and busier. Then the attention economy of media and social media,…Most people will sit there and say, “I don’t have the time for [inner work]. But you can make time.  

He said: ‘I experienced burn out and getting to the very end of everything I had. Any fuel I had in the engine, it was like, boom. 

‘That is when you’re forced to look inside yourself, when everything else around you is seemingly working against you. The only way you can build resilience to your entire environment is the inner work.

‘Once you know how and why your react in certain situations, your reaction to them is more in your control.’

Speaking about mental health, Prince Harry continued: ‘It has to start from yourself, this idea you can find mental fitness from other people. 

‘As a team you can encourage each other, but it starts at home and it starts internal. The effect that has for yourself and the people around you – [as a business leader] to say, you know what, everyone is going to have today to focus on themselves.

‘As I said at the beginning, everyone has such busy days, if you have 15 minutes of white space…between a child going to school and the other one having a nap. [To think] oh by the way, there’s a break in our programme, to do a workout, do a dog walk, do a meditation…’ 

He said that ‘as a father, husband and someone starting a business’, he ‘knows he needs to meditate every day.’

The Duke continued: ‘I hope everybody is available to do that but…once you have to show up for other people, the self care is the first thing to drop away.

‘As someone starting up a business, as a husband, as a dad – you just don’t have the time to do that. 

‘The point here is mental fitness is the pinnacle, that’s what we’re aiming for but it’s called Inner Work for a reason.  The outer work begins so much easier when the inner work falls into place.’

Serena asked him if the inner work was something he did everyday, he told her: ‘I know how my nervous system is going to react to things out of my control. [I think] ‘What do I have in my toolbox? What do I have available?” 

‘You’ve got to put it in after brushing your teeth every morning, it’s a habit. I need to make it a habit. If it’s not, it’s the first one that dropped away from your busy day.’ 

Serena said the pair ‘always have crazy discussions’, adding: ‘We talk for hours.’

Harry continued: ‘From an employer perspective, you can’t expect your people to put in the work on themselves when you’re not giving them the time to do that. [Business leaders should say] if you want to be able to do it, have the chance to do it in your own spare time – we are going to factor that into  your routine at work.

‘If everyone was doing that, the shift in self awareness would be vast. Look at these companies who had BetterUp coaches for how every many years. The employees, their potential and their performance at work and home has increased ten fold in places.’

‘You’re creating more capacity for individuals at home to show up to be the person they need to be for their community. It is one whole cycle of connectivity that everyone around you starts to benefit. 

Harry ended the interview by saying: ‘I don’t have it sorted, none of us have it sorted. 

‘Life is about discovery. You’re going to find things that make you uncomfortable and are constantly pushing back on you. 

‘As you work your way around that chaos, all of the things getting in your way fall away or you visualize them and are able to turn a positive into a negative.

‘And when you get to that point, it’s like a superpower. For me, some days it’s great and some days it’s harder.

‘It’s work but out of all the work we do and all the work we’re pulled towards, it’s the most fulfilling work…apart from being a dad.’ 

Ahead of the interview yesterday, royal expert Katie Nicholl suggested  Prince Harry ‘doesn’t want to cause any more upset’ to the Queen and is ‘laying low for now’.

She said the Duke has ‘paused and reflected’ on his comments, telling Closer magazine: ‘He’s realised how much last year took a toll on his grandmother, and doesn’t want to cause any more upset, so is laying low for now’.

Meanwhile Katie also told the magazine the Duchess of Cambridge could act as a peacemaker between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family.

She said that Kate will play a key role in building bridges with her brother and sister-in-law, even if it’s just to save face for the Jubilee celebrations.  

‘Tensions are high but Kate will do what she can to heal the rift,’ she said.  

Revealing news of Prince Harry’s appearance at the summit on Twitter last month, the company’s official page wrote: ‘Breakthroughs happen when you take a break High voltage. 

‘Learn how Inner Work builds Mental Fitness with BetterUp CEO @Arobichaux, Chief Impact Officer Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, and world-renowned athlete @serenawilliams.’

The Duchess, 40, and Serena have been close friends since 2014 after having their first ‘real hangout’ at the DirecTV Beach Bowl, although they briefly crossed paths in 2010 at the SuperBowl.  

It’s not the first time the royal couple have cashed in on their connections, with the Duchess previously cannily using her connections by gifting Oprah Winfrey a coffee from a brand she had invested in to plug to her 19 million followers on Instagram. 

Serena is a close friend of the couple, attended their royal wedding, and has spoken out in defence of Meghan on several occasion.

Last March, Serena praised Meghan saying she was the ‘epitome of class and strength’ following her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. 

‘Meghan is a great person and I think the epitome of strength, the epitome of confidence, the epitome of just selflessness, and the epitome of everything is just her and everything that she’s gone through,’ the tennis player told the Shine series.  

The Duchess previously cleverly used her relationships with A-listers to promote a coffee brand she had invested in.  

In December 2020, Meghan’s close friend Oprah promoted a basket of coffee latte treats from Clevrly Blends. 

Speaking to her 19 million followers on Instagram, she captioned the post: ‘On the first day of Christmas my neighbor ‘M’ sent to me…A basket of deliciousness! (Yes that M).’ 

At the time speaking to FEMAIL, Ronn Torossian, CEO of NYC based 5WPR, a leading PR agency said the Duchess’s investment is worth ‘much more than a cheque’ as the product is now likely to become a ‘household name’.

Jasmine Birtles, Founder of MoneyMagpie.com added that the Duchess’s involvement would be worth ‘millions’ in publicity and that she may have struck a good deal thanks to her star power. 

Announcing Harry’s appearance at the event last month on Twitter, the couple’s journalist friend Omid Scobie wrote: ‘In his role as Chief Impact Officer at @BetterUp , Prince Harry will join CEO @Arobichaux for a virtual event on Feb 3 to discuss their “bold commitment” to the company’s new #InnerWork initiative.  

‘Expect to hear the duke talking about personal stories, challenges, and successes.’ 

In a separate tweet on its official social media, BetterUp described its #InnerWork initiative as ‘a mindful, conscious effort to organize the inner you’.

The tweet continued: ‘It’s engaging in activities that recharge, reinspire, and reignite your sense of purpose. It’s the work dedicated to ordering your mind.’

Following several TV appearances, including the Winfrey Interview and his talking heads in The Me You Can’t See for Apple TV, this interview offered another glimpse into his private life.  

The royal family are already bracing for Harry’s memoirs, which are due to be released later this year. 

Harry promised to give an ‘accurate and wholly truthful’ account of his life, writing as ‘the man he has become.’

Home life during the break-up of the Prince and Princess of Wales’s marriage, the period of Diana’s death and its aftermath, Harry’s relationship with Camilla and past girlfriends are likely to form part of the book, which will be eagerly anticipated by readers.

Meanwhile Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah last March sent shock waves around the world as the couple laid bare the extent of their rift with the Firm.

They accused an unnamed Royal Family member of racism, suggesting the relative had asked ‘how dark’ their son would be; said they had been driven out of Britain, in part, by racism; and accused the Palace machinery of failing to support a ‘suicidal’ Meghan.

Harry revealed an astonishing rift with his father, saying his family had cut him off financially while suggesting the Queen had been badly advised and had cancelled a meeting scheduled at Sandringham.

Meghan also accused her sister-in-law Kate of making her cry; suggested senior royals plotted to ensure Archie would never have a title or adequate security; and said officials had failed to stand up for the couple against ‘racist’ commentary, while lying to protect other royals.

Meanwhile the Duke also appeared on Dax Shepard’s ‘Armchair Expert’ podcast in which he compared his life as a mixture of The Truman Show – when Jim Carrey’s character discovers his life is a TV show – and being an animal at the zoo. 

When asked if he felt ‘in a cage’ while in royal duties, he said: ‘It’s the job right? Grin and bear it. Get on with it. I was in my early twenties and I was thinking 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 and have a wife and family when I know it’s going to happen again’.

He added: ‘I’ve seen behind the curtain, I’ve seen the business model and seen how this whole thing works and I don’t want to be part of this’, before revealing he had therapy after meeting Meghan, which ‘burst’ a bubble and he decided to ‘stop complaining’. 

The last time Prince Harry gave an interview from his position at BetterUp, he was slammed on social media as ‘privileged’ and a hypocrite after advising people to leave their jobs in favor of bolstering their mental health. 

In December, Harry discussed his role as ‘chief impact officer’ with California-based mental health start-up BetterUp.

Harry said that the world was at the ‘beginning of the mental health awakening’ and spoke about ‘continuing to pioneer the conversation’.

Social media users on Twitter were quick to criticize the ‘woke’ prince, who is sixth in line to the British throne. The couple have a $25 million Spotify deal and a $150 million contract Netflix.

‘Prince Harry says that we should all leave R jobs if we aren’t happy. What about hospital porters hotel workers, women & men just grateful they have work. #princeharry UR so out of touch with real everyday working class people. U have become a figure of laughter and embarrassment,’ @ducchessfake007 tweeted.

‘So multi millionaire Prince Harry who has never held down a proper job in his life and has never had to worry about paying bills says quitting jobs brings joy and it’s actually good for ‘self awareness. Couldn’t make it up, please someone, anyone, make it stop!,’ @helen_spirit1 tweeted. 

Harry had previously held a 10-year career with the British Army where he began as a recruit in 2005 at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was reportedly paid around $45,000 for his contribution. 

BetterUp offers companies coaching regimes for their employees on topics ranging from mental fitness to nutrition and parenting. Its app costs around $240 per month for each user.

Customers include Google, the Hilton hotel chain and movie studio Warner Bros. The company recently announced plans to open a London office and hire 75 staff. 

Harry’s comments come two months after it emerged that the value of BetterUp has topped $4 billion after securing new funding from some of Silicon Valley’s biggest players.

In October, BetterUp, which took on the Duke as ‘chief impact officer’ in March, raised $291 million from investors – valuing the company at around $4.5 billion.