Prince Harry and Robin Williams' son got candid about their 'shared experience' with public grief

• Prince Harry and Zak Williams spoke about grief in a companion episode of "The Me You Can't See."
• Zak said he had difficulties separating public and private grief after the death of his father, actor Robin Williams.
• Harry added that he had complicated feelings about grief after his mother, Princess Diana, died.

The Duke of Sussex and actor Zak Williams opened up about their "shared experience" with public grief.

A companion episode to the Apple TV+ docuseries "The Me You Can't See" premiered on Friday with Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey. The episode, titled "The Me You Can't See: A Path Forward," featured Robin Williams' oldest son, Zak.

During the conversation, Harry asked Zak about his experience with losing his father after the actor died in 2014. Robin died inside his California home by suicide at the age of 63.

The actor's wife, Susan Schneider Williams, later revealed that Robin had a severe case of Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's disease before his death.

"For my end, it was really hard to separate the initial process of privately grieving versus sharing the grieving with the general public, both the American public and the world," Zak, 38, said. "I had trouble differentiating that grieving process at first. It was really challenging for me. I found myself really emotionally dysregulated, feeling vulnerable and exposed when I wasn't ready to be vulnerable. That created a major challenge for me."

Zak added that he couldn't properly grieve in private until a year and a half after his father's death.

"I didn't recognize that I needed to grieve privately, and so I'm very thankful and appreciative that I did recognize how to set boundaries," said Zak. "I hope they're health boundaries, around grieving personally versus grieving as a community, grieving with the public, grieving with the world."

"I needed that, and I didn't pick up on that initially," he said.

Harry, 36, said he personally related to Zak's struggles because of the experience he had when his mother, Princess Diana, died.

"I think we have a lot of shared experience when you talk about that," Harry said. "When you see so many people around the world grieving for someone they feel as though they knew them better than you did in a weird way because you're unable to grieve yourself."

Harry added: "How are you showing more, more sort of, how are you grieving more for someone who is my parent and I'm unable to grieve myself?"

Diana died in August 1997 after a car crash in Paris, France. Prince William was 15-years-old at the time, while Harry was only 12.

The royal family's official website noted widespread public mourning after her death.

Both Harry and Zak now devote time and resources to initiatives focused on mental health.

The docuseries features celebrity guests, including Glenn Close and Lady Gaga

"The Me You Can't See" premiered May 21 on Apple TV+ and is a series focused on mental wellbeing.

In previous episodes, Lady Gaga said she was raped and impregnated by a producer at age 19.

Glenn Close shared details about being raised in a religious cult and the "trauma" that has affected her ever since.

In one episode, Harry said he turned to alcohol and drugs to "mask" his feelings after his mother died.

"I was willing to drink. I was willing to take drugs. I was willing to try and do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling," he said.