Since leaving the UK in 2020, Prince Harry has made a string of barbed comments about the royals and his former life within the family – and last week, he gave yet another shocking interview, proving that the royal rift was no closer to being resolved.
Speaking to American TV presenter Hoda Kotb at The Invictus Games from The Hague – where he and Meghan travelled to earlier this month, stopping off in the UK to have a 15-minute meet-up with the Queen for the first time in nine months – Harry gushed about his close bond with his grandmother, saying, “It was just so nice to see her. You know, she’s on great form. She has always got a great sense of humour with me and I’m just making sure she’s protected and has got the right people around her. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can’t talk about with anybody else.”
When asked whether he misses his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William, he avoided the question, saying, “At the moment, I’m here focused on these guys [at The Invictus Games]... And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family [Meghan and their children] who I miss massively.”
Harry – who lives in a £11m mansion in Montecito with Meghan, 40, Archie, two, and 10-month-old Lilibet – also claimed that, despite growing up and living in the UK for two years, America “feels like home.”
But royal biographer Duncan Larcombe – who wrote Prince Harry: The Untold Story and has accompanied the prince on many royal tours over the years – says his body language suggested otherwise.
Duncan says, “While Harry is claiming he’s happy in his new life, his face looked totally at odds with what he was saying – he seemed bitter and empty. I imagine anyone watching who used to know him will be worried about him after that interview. He just seemed desperate to justify his betrayal and convince the world – and himself – that it was worth it and he’s now happy. I imagine Meghan’s really happy, but Harry looks more lost than ever.”
Harry, 38, and Meghan, 40, headed to The Invictus Games with a Netflix TV crew in tow, thought to be filming a documentary as part of the couple’s multi-million pound contract.
And Duncan says that with Netflix currently struggling financially, Harry and Meghan will need to justify their hefty price tag.
He says, “Netflix’s financial issues have upped the pressure on Harry and Meghan. It’s great that they at last seem to be doing something related to their Netflix and Spotify deals. But a cynic would say that it was extremely convenient that while they were filming their new show, they also decided to pop by to see the Queen. That’ll be the type of stuff Netflix is after, as Harry and Meghan’s main appeal is their royal link. You can almost imagine them talking to the camera after meeting with her, like a reality show. It’s almost as if they’ve ensnared the Queen to boost their coffers.”
In the interview, Harry also said that he felt that his mother, the late Princess Diana – known around the world as the People’s Princess – was watching over him, saying, “I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now. But definitely more so in the last two years.”
Referring to the comments, Duncan adds, “Harry mentioning his close relationship with the Queen and his mother Diana in the interview wasn’t just a coincidence. It was tactical as they are two of the most popular royals.”
There’s been much speculation in recent months over whether Harry will return to the UK in June for the Platinum Jubilee celebration, and at last introduce daughter Lilibet to her namesake, the Queen.
In March, there were reports that Harry and Meghan – who lost the right for taxpayer-funded security when they stepped back as royals – were taking legal action against the government for refusing to let them pay for Metropolitan Police security when they return to the UK.
And now Duncan says that he doesn’t believe the couple will come back for the Jubilee event, and that Harry’s tell-all memoir – due out in the autumn – could inflict further damage.
Duncan adds, “Even though they need their royal connection, I really don’t think they’ll return for the Jubilee. I think there’s a genuine chance they’d be booed on the balcony, and that risk of humiliation will be too great for them. Harry says a lack of security is holding him back from coming, but I believe that’s just an excuse.
“I think Meghan has a long- term game plan and always has done. You don’t employ an army of lawyers, PRs and experts if you don’t have a game plan. If part of that plan is to try to bring down the royal family, then they won’t succeed, because Harry and Meghan aren’t as popular as they’d perhaps hoped, and they aren’t always credible.
“The state of the royal rift is looking incredibly tragic. The interview made it clear that Harry still harbours a lot of anger towards Charles and William. And he’s got his book coming out this year, which will be hanging over the royals, and make it impossible for any bridges to be built any time soon.”