Prince Harry says time in Army 'burst bubble' of growing up as a Royal in Netflix documentary

Prince Harry has said in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's new Netflix docuseries that spending 10 years in the British Army helped "burst" the bubble he grew up in.

The highly anticipated series, called Harry & Meghan, explores the couple's relationship with each other, the Royal Family and the British tabloids.

In the third episode, Prince Harry expresses his gratitude for his service and the friends he made during that time because, despite being at war, it helped him experience a more normal life than he had up until that point. 

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He said: "Working and living with normal people... certainly has an effect on you, right? The bubble within the bubble that I was brought up in got burst."

He goes on to say that after a life of privilege and protection, his service gave him "the lived experience that other members of my family wouldn't have had". 

Watch: The official trailer for the docuseries.

The documentary series, of which the first three episodes were released on Thursday, shows Prince Harry and Meghan visiting Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, US, in 2021 to mark Remembrance Day and Veterans Day – both marked on 11 November. 

Meeting with service personnel and their families, Prince Harry breaks the awkward silence created by the official visit by making those he sits with laugh. 

He said: "I'm never going to remember everyone's names. 

"It's like speed dating, it's so weird." 

Meghan expresses her joy at seeing how happy Harry is to be back on a base, saying: "He just immediately goes back into military banter." 

The Duke served in the British Army for a decade, undertaking two tours of Afghanistan, qualifying as an Apache commander and rising to the rank of captain. 

He says in the documentary that his fellow military personnel became his "second family".

He said: "Two tours in Afghanistan, flying Apache helicopters on a military base means that you grow up pretty fast. 

"Jeez, I went to war twice. 

"People that I met and the lifelong friends made, that was my second family at that point. 

"You know there's still scars left open from my mum's awesomeness, to put it mildly." 

The documentary then cuts to archive footage of Prince Harry speaking in Afghanistan in which he talks about his mother, Princess Diana, and his hope she would have been proud of his service. 

He also reveals how his older brother William, now the Prince of Wales, supported him during this time. 

He said: "William sent me a letter saying how proud he reckons she would be. 

"It's one thing that I don't necessarily think about the whole time because I've got the guys to worry about." 

In 2007, Captain Wales, as the Prince was known, was deployed to Afghanistan for 10 weeks, working as a forward air controller, co-ordinating airstrikes on Taliban positions. 

His tour ended early, however, when it was revealed in the media that he was in Afghanistan. 

His presence there was kept a secret to help protect his fellow soldiers and officers from danger. 

On 25 February 2008, it was announced Prince Harry had been serving in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, for more than two months. 

Speaking at the time, Prince Harry explained what it was like to serve. 

He said: "It is somewhat like what I can imagine World War Two to be like. 

"It's just no man's land. 

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm out here as a normal JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) on the ground and not Prince Harry. 

"I do go on patrols and in amongst the locals I'll still be very wary that I need to keep my face slightly covered just on the off-chance that I do get recognised which will put other guys in danger. 

"The Gurkhas think it's hysterical how I'm called the bullet magnet, but they're yet to see why."