Los Angeles, Feb 27 (IANS): Prince Harry has revealed that the British press had been destroying his mental health, citing it as a reason why he and his wife Megan Markle stepped back from their royal responsibilities.

"It was never walking away. It was stepping back, rather than stepping down. It was a really difficult environment, as I think a lot of people saw. We all know what the British press can be like, and it was destroying my mental health. I was like, ‘this is toxic. So I did what any husband and what any father would do, is like, I need to get my family out of here," Harry said in an interview on The Late Late Show, according to a report in eonline.com.

On February 20, the Buckingham Palace put out a statement that the couple will not be returning to their royal duties and that Harry would give up his honorary military titles.

The couple stepped down as working members of the British monarchy last year, though it was agreed then that the situation would be reviewed. They subsequently moved to Santa Barbara, California.