Prince Harry admits to using 'drugs, alcohol' when trying to 'mask' the pain of his mother's death

Prince Harry has admitted to "drinking a week's worth" of alcohol on Friday and Saturday nights to numb the anxiety he was feeling during his late 20s.

The Duke of Sussex said he "was willing to drink [and] willing to take drugs" to cope with the painful experience of losing his mother when he was just 12.

He said had been trying to block his feelings instead of seeking professional help.

"I was willing to drink, I was willing to take drugs, I was willing to try and do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling," Prince Harry told Oprah Winfrey in their new docuseries, The Me You Can't See.

The explosive series premieres on the streaming platform today.

READ MORE: What to expect from Harry's new mental health docuseries with Oprah

Harry admitted to drinking "probably…a week's worth" on the weekends every now and then, after going without during the working week.

"Not because I was enjoying it but because I was trying to mask something," he said.

He was speaking about the suppressed grief from the shock death of his mother Princess Diana that began presenting in his twenties, leaving him "all over the place mentally".

READ MORE: William and Harry condemn Princess Diana interview: 'Our mother lost her life over this'

The prince recalls "pouring with sweat" and experiencing "panic attacks and severe anxiety" while going about his royal duties.

He describes the four years between the ages of 28 and 32 as "a nightmare time in [his] life".

"From freaking out every single time I'd jump in a car, and every single time that I'd see a camera ... I would just start sweating," he recalls.

"I would convince myself that my face was bright red, and therefore everyone could see how I was feeling but no-one would know why.

"So it was embarrassing. You get in your head about it and then you're just like, 'Everyone's looking at me ... what are they thinking of me? They have no idea, I can't tell them'."

Prince Harry goes on to explain that it was meeting Meghan Markle that ultimately prompted him to receive therapy to deal with Princess Diana's death.

He told Oprah he had since been receiving therapy for four years.