Prince Harry Says His Mother's Perfume Unlocked Buried Memories in New Grief MasterClass

In a MasterClass titled 'Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss', released alongside grief neuroscientist Dr Mary-Frances O'Connor and widely covered on October 10, 2026, Prince Harry revealed that spraying Princess Diana's favourite perfume — First by Van Cleef & Arpels — was the therapeutic trigger that reconnected him with memories of his mother. Harry said that after Diana's 1997 death in Paris, years of emotional shutdown had erased even the sound of her voice and laughter. His therapist introduced the technique of using familiar scents to access traumatic memories, a method commonly used with military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. 'Spraying my mother's scent was almost like knocking certain bricks through so that I could see through,' Harry says, 'and certain memories and experiences could start seeping through'. The British-American tabloid and lifestyle press — Yahoo Entertainment, Hola, Reality Tea and Brit Brief — led coverage on October 9-10, framing it as the duke's most personal public reflection since his 2023 memoir 'Spare'. The MasterClass pairs Harry's testimony with O'Connor's research on how grief rewires the brain, and promotes practical techniques including scent therapy, journaling and body scans.