Prince Harry starts new job with Silicon Valley firm

LONDON — Britain’s self-exiled Prince Harry will join the American workforce, taking up a new job at a Silicon Valley company.

Harry, 36, will become the chief impact officer at BetterUp Inc., a San Francisco-based health tech company, which offers professional and mental health coaching, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex confirmed to NBC News on Tuesday.

“I am really excited to be joining the BetterUp team and community! Thanks for having me,” Harry wrote in a blog post Tuesday for the company, which was founded in 2013. “I firmly believe that focusing on and prioritizing our mental fitness unlocks potential and opportunity that we never knew we had inside of us.”

Adding that he had learned in his own life “the power of transforming pain into purpose,” he urged others to “proactively take care of our minds.”

Harry also said he had been working with a BetterUp coach himself, an experience he deemed “invaluable.”

Alongside his American wife, Meghan, the couple confirmedlast month they would not be resuming their public duties as working royals in Britain, cementing their royal exit after stepping back last year — a move that stunned many.

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The rift was exacerbated earlier this month after the pair gave a bombshell interview to the media mogul Oprah Winfrey, speaking about mental health, race, security and finances.

Meghan said the pressures of being under the public microscope drove her to thoughts of suicide. “I just didn’t want to be alive anymore,” she told Winfrey.

The wide-ranging interview was watched by millions on both sides of the Atlantic and has stirred up a media frenzy over what goes on behind palace walls.

BetterUp CEO and co-founder Alexi Robichaux co-wrote the blog with Harry and said the company welcomed the Duke of Sussex “with great pleasure and excitement.”

“As a true citizen of the world, he has dedicated his life’s work to bringing attention to the diverse needs of people everywhere and advocating for mental health initiatives,” Robichaux wrote.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news of Harry’s new role.

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Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, has often spoken publicly about mental health.

When he was a working royal, he joined his brother, Prince William, and his wife, Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, in a charity called “Heads Together,” a mental health initiative for young people in the United Kingdom.

Last month, he told TV host James Corden that Britain’s “toxic” media was “destroying my mental health” and in part fueled the couple’s decision to leave for the United States.

News of Harry’s job comes as his William and Kate toured a coronavirus vaccination center in London on Tuesday, continuing public duties as the country marks the one year anniversary of its first national lockdown.

Following the Oprah interview, Buckingham Palace was quintessentially stoic, issuing a 61-word statement in response.

“While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately,” it said.

Despite attempts to dampen interest, the appetite of the press and the public in both the U.S. and the U.K. for more on the family drama continues.

It is unclear whether Harry’s new job will be full time or where it will be based. He and Meghan also run a charitable foundation and have signed multimillion-dollar deals with companies including Spotify and Netflix.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.