Although generally optimistic, Prince Henry did sometimes suffer from bouts of depression during his service in 1940, especially at the end of his occasional leaves. "My beloved Alice, I did hate leaving you yesterday so very much that I could hardly keep a straight face", he wrote to his wife after reporting back. The strains of living at the French front also diminished his resolve at times: "I think I hate this country and war more than ever... it is such an awful waste of everything," he told the Duchess.