Harry calls himself ‘full-time dad’ and ‘Prince of England’ on podcast

Prince Harry has described his occupation as a ‘full-time dad’ and ‘Prince of England’ during a zany section of a new podcast recorded shortly before his reunion with King Charles. Harry also appeared to joke about being a ‘duke’, despite his wife Meghan Markle famously claiming their Sussex title is now her surname. Speaking at an Invictus Games event in Birmingham, Harry was asked by former England rugby star Joe Marler about his occupation. ‘Full-time dad, uh, British Army veteran, Prince of England,’ he replied. Harry then drawled the word ‘duke’, appearing to adopt an exaggerated upper-class English accent, after having said his full name is ‘Henry Charles Albert David, Duke of Sussex’. The pair laughed as they settled on a job title of ‘duke’ and ‘inventor’ of the Invictus Games before Harry said he did not mind being called either Harry or ‘H’. He also admitted his favourite ‘trashy’ television show was Love Island. Harry also laughed as he said his hair is not ‘ginger’ but ‘sunset auburn’, adding that there was ‘nothing really happening on top’ before pointing to his hairline. ‘I get a haircut, otherwise I try not to look at what’s happening,’ he said.

He also joked about his friendship with James Haskell, who hosts a podcast with Mike Tindall. Mr Tindall is married to Harry’s cousin Zara and is widely believed to have fallen out with the King’s younger son since Megxit. He recently suggested Harry is no longer fun to be around. Harry was on fine form in the interview and is said to be ‘buoyed’ and ‘really energised’ following his family reunion with King Charles hours later. The Duke of Sussex is said to be ‘very happy’ that his wife and children joined him to spend time with his father and stepmother, Queen Camilla, at Highgrove, friends said.

Harry and his family are believed to have met the King and Queen between 3.30pm and 4pm on Friday, remaining with the couple for more than an hour. The King is said to have been determined to see his grandchildren for the first time in four years during a week in which Harry suffered a crushing defeat in his privacy court case against the Daily Mail. Friends of Harry claimed he was ‘buoyed, very happy and really energised’ after the meeting, which also marked the monarch’s first time meeting with Archie and Lilibet in four years.

His wife Meghan Markle, who was famously accompanied down the aisle by her father-in-law the King on their wedding day in 2018, was also present after secretly flying the family to Britain. But the Duchess of Sussex skipped all of Harry’s Invictus Games engagements amid his ongoing dispute with the Government over taxpayer-funded police protection in the UK. King Charles has faced criticism in some quarters for meeting Harry and Meghan after suffering years of potshots at the Royal Family from California since Megxit, including claims of racism.

But a royal source responded that ‘blood is blood’ when asked about the decision to meet. ‘Every journey of a thousand miles begins with one footstep,’ the source added. Harry and his family are believed to have spent around an hour at Highgrove with King Charles and Queen Camilla. The family reunion at Highgrove had clearly put Harry in high spirits following a week dominated by negative headlines, including a row over his security and a crushing defeat in his court case over privacy against the Daily Mail.

Speaking to Joe Marler, Harry admitted he shows affection to his children as his mother, the late Princess Diana, did to him. He said that ‘if a day is hard, one thing I will do is always squeeze my kids that extra, extra tight’. Harry has previously described how Diana would squeeze him and his brother, Prince William, as ‘tight as possible’. He said: ‘The resilience of kids is amazing and the way they view life is so incredibly refreshing.’ His children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, were reunited with their Royal grandparents for the first time since 2022 on Friday during a private evening at Highgrove.

Celebrity Traitors star Marler hosts the podcast which takes the form of a mock therapy session. When asked to name his ‘favourite trashy TV show’ he replied ‘Love Island’, adding: ‘I don’t watch Love Island, I have watched Love Island.’ Asked which other Harry he would be for the day, ‘Harry Styles, Harry Kane or Harry Potter’, the Duke said: ‘Kane on a winning day.’ He also gave his prediction about England’s chances of the World Cup, saying: ‘I think it’s coming home, not going to be easy – never is.’

Asked about his grooming regime, he replied ‘[expletive], shave, shower’ and ‘I trim my beard every five or six days, just to keep it a little bit tidy’. Striking a more serious tone when asked how he dealt with trauma, Harry said: ‘Exercise, sport and being able to find the time to take yourself somewhere, do something – repetition is great, have a routine.’ He added: ‘Boxing, another thing that I really enjoy, just to let the aggression out, get a sweat on, to me it’s always about getting a sweat on.’

At the start of the episode Harry used his full name in answer to one of Marler’s questions. Asked for his name, the Duke replied: ‘Henry Charles Albert David, Duke of Sussex,’ to which podcast co-host Jake Bhardwaj quipped: ‘It’s a long one.’ Harry quickly responded: ‘Alright, Jake,’ causing huge laughter from the podcast hosts and crew members behind the camera. As Harry entered the podcast set the hosts chanted, ‘Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke’ before Marler said: ‘What the [expletive] was that?’ Marler and Bhardwaj spoke to the prince about trauma, coping mechanisms, identity and grief, as well as lighter topics.