James Corden defended Prince Harry's decision to leave the UK, saying he 'cannot imagine any of it is easy'

• James Corden has defended Prince Harry's decision to leave the UK and move to California.
• Corden told radio host Howard Stern: "I cannot imagine any of it is easy."
• Harry shared his struggles with mental health and UK tabloids on "The Late Late Show" in March.

James Corden has defended Prince Harry's decision to leave the UK with Meghan Markle and their son Archie in 2020.

Speaking to radio host Howard Stern, "The Late Late Show" host was asked to comment on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's choice to step back from royal duties in January 2020 and move to the US that March.

"I cannot imagine any of it is easy," the 43-year-old fellow stateside Brit said, according to the Independent.

"But I do not think any person in such a position in his life is easy. I have never really spoken about it to him in depth," he added, acknowledging that Harry, 36, would have found it difficult to step back.

"The Harry you saw on the clip we did on the open-top bus, that to me is a great reflection of the person I know," he said, referring to Harry's appearance on "The Late Late Show" on February 25.

During his appearance, Harry opened up about his decision to leave, clarifying that "it was never walking away. It was stepping back rather than stepping down."

He also told Corden that the "toxic" British press was "destroying" his mental health through its negative coverage of his relationship with Markle and, historically, his mother.

"It was a really difficult environment, as I think a lot of people saw," he said.

Harry also spoke candidly about how the passing of his mother, Princess Diana in 1997 affected his mental health. In his new Apple+ TV mental wellbeing series with Oprah Winfrey, "The Me You Can't See," Harry said he started therapy four years ago to "heal" himself from the past.

In the first episode of the series, he said that he would often suppress feelings of grief that he felt over losing his mother when he was 12 years old: "I don't want to think about her because if I think about her it's just gonna make me sad, what's the point in thinking about something sad? What's the point thinking about someone you've lost and you're never gonna get back again? So I just decided not to talk about it."

In the episode, Harry cited "panic attacks" and "severe anxiety" as the reason he always found royal engagements difficult.