TRIGGER WARNING: The following story contains statements about suicidal thoughts. This content may be irritating to some readers.

I found Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's prime-time interview with Oprah Winfrey to be groundbreaking, especially their descriptions of feeling abandoned by the royal family and Meghan's courageous decision to speak openly about her mental health struggles (opens in new tab), and the shocking claim (opens in new tab) that a conversation took place within "The Firm" (opens in new tab) about her son Archie's skin color (opens in new tab), were certainly true. At the same time, however, the interview was even more shocking because of how disturbingly similar it was to an interview Princess Diana gave to the BBC's Martin Bashir in 1995, nearly 30 years earlier.

That interview, which took place two years before Princess Diana's untimely death and was secured by Bashir under deceptive circumstances, is another story (opens in new tab). In the latter case, Prince Harry was fully aware of the similarities between his mother's and wife's testimonies, telling Oprah, "My biggest concern was that history would repeat itself (opens in new tab)."

Here are some of the biggest similarities between Princess Meghan and Princess Diana's revealing interviews, from content to reception.

Meghan and Harry's interview, of course, came a little over a year after they announced they were stepping down from their roles as senior royal workers and moving to California (open in new tab) to live as private citizens. As Meghan told Oprah, such an explosive interview could not have happened any sooner while the couple was still employed by the royal court and overcoming the fallout from their departure.

Diana also suffered years of silence because she felt it was her royal duty not to speak out, but by the time she decided to interview Bashir, she had had enough. Her interview aired on November 20, 1995, more than three years after she and Prince Charles had officially separated.

In a CBS special, Meghan said that since announcing her engagement to Harry, she had faced intense, constant, and often racist media scrutiny, had fallen into a deep depression, and experienced suicidal thoughts.

"I couldn't see a solution. I was just breathing and everything was happening," Megan told Oprah. 'I was embarrassed to say it at the time, and especially embarrassed to have to admit it to Harry. But I knew if I didn't tell him, I would do it. I didn't want to live anymore. It was so clear, so real, so horrible.

Princess Diana also used the interview to open up about her mental health. This conversation was later shown (opens in new tab) to have a significant impact in dematerializing mental health issues in the UK and abroad. The Crown Princess of the United Kingdom experienced depression, bulimia, and self-harm, and cited causes very similar to Meghan's, including rampant tabloid scrutiny, lack of support from the palace, and an overall sense of "isolation" in her role.

"When you feel like no one is listening to you, or that no one is listening to you, a lot of things start to happen. For example, you have too much pain inside of you, you try to hurt yourself on the outside, you want help, but it's the wrong kind of help," Diana said. The public sees it as "crying out" or "wanting attention" and thinks that because she is always in the media, she has enough "attention." But in reality, she was crying because she wanted to move forward and be better so she could continue her duties and roles as a wife, mother, and crown princess."

Interestingly, both Meghan and Princess Diana stated that while they felt unprepared for their royal roles, they were expected to perform them perfectly. No one sat me down with a piece of paper and said, 'This is what is expected of you,'" Diana said, explaining that she basically had to make up the role of princess herself.

But even after much public praise for her actions in doing whatever was necessary to make the royal family look as good as possible, Diana said the royal court was never satisfied with her efforts: "I don't think many people want me to be queen. In fact, by many people, I mean the royal family, the organization I married into, because they have decided that I am unattractive."

Princess Meghan also rejected the idea, popularized by The Princess Diaries and The Crown, that would-be royal spouses receive "princess lessons." There was no instruction," she said.

"But unlike what you see in the movies, there were no lessons on how to speak, how to cross your legs, how to be royalty."

She also continued to receive indifference from royal officials, even after attending every public appearance. Harry expressed bewilderment at the fact that his family seemed unable to recognize that his wife was "one of the greatest assets to the Commonwealth that a family could hope for."

In the aftermath of their respective interviews, Princess Meghan's and Princess Diana's testimonies sparked controversy. On the one hand, each received at least superficial consolation from the royal family: Diana was finally allowed to end her marriage to Charles, and in response to Meghan and Harry's claims that the Queen was "saddened" to hear their side of the story and would address the many "concerning" issues they had raised statement (opens in new tab).

Meanwhile, the public's reaction was mixed. In both cases, the reaction seemed to be twofold: horrified by the royal court's treatment of Princess Meghan and Princess Diana and impressed by their courage in speaking out about the unimaginable hardships they had experienced, or shocked that a centuries-old, wildly outdated organization built on white privilege and forced colonization could do such a thing. organization could do no wrong, and that the royal women, who have much to lose, are simply seeking attention. It's a hard choice.

If you or someone you know is at risk, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (opens in new tab) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text HOME to 741741 for Crisis Text Line (opens in new tab) (opens in a new tab) for a free message exchange with a trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line (opens in a new tab).