Sun journalist who spent decade with Prince Harry reveals why the Prince is a unique asset to the royal family
Former Sun Royal Editor Duncan Larcombe spent more than a decade up close with one of the nation’s favourite royals
PRINCE Harry enjoys a unique position in the Royal Family – someone who has the magic touch that the House of Windsor desperately needs.
Unlike other members of his family, Harry, 32, brings a unique take on what it means to be a Royal.
In an earlier age it might have been concluded that the best way of “dealing” with a wayward and controversial prince was to keep him out of the public eye.
But Harry’s fame is eclipsed only by his popularity with the public.
No one cares about his mistakes, in fact these are precisely the reason why so many are captivated by Princess Diana’s younger son.
I have witnessed first hand how Harry interacts with other members of his family. He is the natural joker but also the one who senses their moods. Like his mother, he has the ability to put people at ease.
When William married Kate in 2011, I had a ringside view of the Royal brothers. With just minutes to go before the wedding of the decade got underway, Harry led his brother to a side room adjoining Poets’ Corner at the front of Westminster Abbey and closed the door behind him.
As William headed into that room I had never seen him look so nervous. The dazzle of his bright red tunic did little, I thought, to mask the sheer white fear he was trying so hard to hide.
Harry, who was also wearing the ceremonial colours of his regiment, the Army Air Corps, managed to throw his brother a reassuring smile as he led William into the room.
There is no doubt that the sight of Harry, seemingly playing it cool, must have come as a lifeline to William. There is no one he would have wanted by his side more.
We will never know what was said in the minutes the two brothers spent in that room but it was a perfect plan to give William a chance to take a deep breath and try to calm his nerves before composing himself and reappearing two or three minutes later.
Westminster Abbey was of course the place where, some thirteen years earlier, the teenaged boys had stood side by side as they went through the agony of their mother’s funeral.
On that sad occasion in 1997, it was largely the fact they went through the ordeal together that enabled them to cope. Diana’s death brought William and Harry together in a way that nothing else could.
So it was in some ways fitting that all these years on they were once again relying on each other to get them through another difficult event.
By the time the princes emerged from the room to make the short walk to the front of the Abbey, William looked much more composed. Those precious moments with Harry must have done wonders.
In more general terms for the royal family, Harry passed a huge test with his first solo tour, to Jamaica to represent his grandmother the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee year.
It was a trip memorable for the moment when he left sprint world record holder Usain Bolt standing in a mock-up race they were having.
Phil Dampier, who has reported on the Royal family for 30 years and wrote Prince Philip: Wise Words and Golden Gaffes, said: “The Queen and her senior courtiers were watching him very closely on his first trip to see how he did. After all, he was representing Her Majesty in countries where times are changing fast.
“In Jamaica he hugged Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, who had made comments about removing the Queen as head of state and the Commonwealth.
"The Queen is a pragmatist and knows that some countries will drop the British monarchy when she dies, but she very much wants the Commonwealth to hold together and for Prince Charles to become its head. So it’s important for Harry and William and Kate to carry on her life’s work and make friends.
“Harry spread goodwill everywhere, dancing with people, sampling local drinks, hugging politicians and visiting hospitals.
“I know that the Queen was delighted and sent him a note congratulating him and thanking him when he got back. He was absolutely chuffed with that. The last thing he or William would ever want to do would be to let their grandmother down, and so far on overseas trips they have passed with flying colours.”
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With the Duke of Edinburgh retiring from official duties, the Royal family need Harry more now than ever. With the Queen still on the throne, and the Prince of Wales approaching his seventies, there is a real danger that the senior Royals could be seen as being out of touch with the younger generation.
What Harry brings to the “Firm” is that vital link between the generations. His pro le as a ‘rock star Royal’ may not be to his personal liking, but its value would be impossible to overestimate.
Harry’s appeal to young people is not in dispute and he still enjoys a hero’s welcome whenever he carries out a public engagement.
In effect he has become that link between the older members of the family and the younger generation. Wittingly or not, Harry manages to keep the older generation of Royals relevant.
There is no better example of this than when he prepared to take a team of wounded British soldiers to the Invictus Games in America in 2016. With just weeks to go before US veterans would go head to head with their British counterparts, Prince Harry decided to enlist his grandmother to help promote the event.
In April that year he released a short video which has come to epitomize Harry’s unique place within the British Royal family. Sitting on a sofa next to his grandmother, Harry was filmed showing the Queen a flier for the Invictus Games. As the monarch is looking at the brochure, Harry’s phone suddenly goes off to the tune of the US national anthem.
“Oh ... message,” says Harry as he interrupts his conversation to look at his phone. “It’s from Michelle,” he tells the Queen.
“How very amusing,” she says. “Are we allowed to watch it together?”
Harry and the Queen then focus on the mobile phone and listen to the message.
“Hey, Prince Harry, remember when you told us to ‘bring it’ at the Invictus Games?” said the First Lady, Michelle Obama, folding her arms and staring at the camera.
The then American President, Barack Obama, standing by her side, then unfolds his arms to point at the camera and say: “Be careful what you wish for.”
At this point three American soldiers are seen smirking at the camera and pulling faces as they lay down the challenge of the games ahead.
The Queen then turns to Harry and says in a dismissive tone: “Oh, really?”
At which point Harry turns to the camera, raises his hand and, imitating a basketballer slamming the ball into the net, says: “Boom.”
The video went viral on the internet and had viewers all over the world laughing as they tuned into their television news channels.
Only Harry could have persuaded the Queen of England and the then President of the United States and his wife to take part in a stunt like that. And only he could have made sure that the hilarious clip was received in the way it was intended – as a light-hearted, and unexpected, scam to promote the Invictus Games.
A palace source added: “It was Harry’s idea and he persuaded the Queen and President Obama to take part. The palace were delighted at the result, because it was a rare glimpse of Her Majesty’s sense of humour, and her affection for Prince Harry.
"They made a surprisingly good double act, given they are nearly sixty years apart in age. It showed them in a good light and the appeal of the video crossed the generations. It was also a marvellous way to promote the Invictus Games and it certainly helped raise the event’s profile at home and in the United States.”
The success of the video, and the progress that Harry is making with his charities, may in part begin to explain why he has seemingly stalled in his plans to find another job. As things stand, Harry is finding a role to play within the Royal family and it is a role that is certainly needed.
Since his wedding, Prince William has taken a more formal, dutiful approach to his public engagements and he is certainly perceived as more “serious” than in his earlier days. This is clearly a deliberate attempt by William as he prepares for the serious business of what lies ahead. Being a future king, he does not have the same freedom as his brother to take risks, tell it how it is and play the fool in public.
People need to view William as a person with whom the line of succession is in safe hands. It is imperative that he avoids scandals, takes care not to be dragged into political rows or be perceived as lightweight.
With his status comes the requirement for him to show signs of being regal, thoughtful and cautious. Gone are the days when William would risk chatting to a reporter while enjoying a drink in a Swiss nightclub.
Contrast the Wills and Harry double act with their father and their uncle Prince Andrew. The senior brothers hardly ever attend official engagements together. Beyond the set-piece family occasions, they are rarely even seen by each other’s side.
So as the heir moulds his image to the demands of the huge task ahead, his younger brother provides a much-needed balance within the family. We have already seen examples of when William’s public role at Harry’s side seems more like that of a straight man in a comedy duo.
William provides the gravitas and his brother the spark, a combination which will reassure senior members of the Royal family when they consider the future of the monarchy.
- Extracted from Prince Harry: The Inside Story by Duncan Larcombe published by Harper Collins on June 15 2017 @£14.99