Prince Harry left a panel audience laughing with a quip about ‘getting into trouble’ with the Royal Family, as he prepares to head back to the UK on another flying visit
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Prince Harry says ‘young people must be listened to’ at Princess Diana event
Prince Harry sparked chuckles this week with a sly nod to ‘getting into trouble’ with the Royal Family.
The Duke of Sussex delivered a powerful speech at the Clinton Foundation summit, which focused on finding solutions to pressing global challenges such as the climate emergency, homelessness and the ‘global killer’ lead poisoning crisis.
Harry, 40, was one of the star guests on the high-profile panel, appearing alongside the likes of former US President Bill Clinton. In his speech, which addressed threats faced by children and young people, Harry drew from his own personal experiences – showcasing his signature cheeky sense of humour.
In an apparent nod to his antics in his younger days, which prompted laughter from members of the audience, Harry quipped: “Some say kids will be kids and well, that may well be true. Kids may get into trouble. I know a thing or two about that. But our kids are being targeted. The harmful effects of social media are made by design.”
In his younger days, Prince Harry, now a married father of two, was known for being the wilder one in his family. Long before meeting and falling in love with his now-wife Meghan Markle, the naughty prince spent a fair bit of his teen years and twenties out partying until the early hours and getting up to mischief with pals.
In his best-selling memoir Spare, Harry reflected on a number of his youthful antics, including losing his virginity to an older woman, and stripping off during a lads’ trip to Vegas. In one particularly memorable passage, Harry recounted the time he allegedly took magic mushrooms during a party at Friends legend Courteney Cox’s house.
Remembering the psychedelic hallucinations he had after the drugs took hold, Harry revealed: “Beside the toilet was a round silver bin, the kind with a foot pedal to open the lid. I stared at the bin. It stared back. Then it became… a head. I stepped on the pedal and the head opened its mouth. A huge open grin. I laughed, turned away, took a p***. Now the loo became a head too. The bowl was its gaping maw, the hinges of the seat were its piercing silver eyes. It said, ‘Aaah’.”
In 2020, Harry and Meghan left royal life behind for a new start in California, and their relationship with the rest of The Firm has been somewhat strained in the years since.
It has been a busy few days for Harry, who will be making a brief return to London at the end of this month to attend the 2024 WellChild Awards on September 30. Yesterday, he made an appearance at New York’s Concordia Summit, where spoke movingly about the Diana Award, named in memory of his late mother Princess Diana, alongside CEO Dr Tessy Ojo.
Remembering his mother, Harry said she would be proud of the award as well as the two prize winners, who spoke about the issues facing young people today. The duke shared: “I know that my mum would be incredibly proud of you guys, not just you, but all of the winners, and, Tessy – you’ve been in this for a very long time so thank you for that as well. But the way that you do it, your activism, your compassion, those two things are so true to how my mom led her life and what she believed in. And the way that you do it is incredible. So thank you.”
