Prince Harry spoke to James Corden about his decision to move away from the royal family last year, during a surprise appearance on The Late Late Show on Friday.
The Duke of Sussex joined the artist for an extensive interview, where the two faced off against Meghan Markle and Harry even literally spilled tea (while riding on a double-decker bus in Los Angeles). Although there was no carpool karaoke, there was some rap from the prince while he sang the theme song “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”.
When Corden mentioned Prince Harry’s decision to walk away from the royal family, the duke was quick to clarify: “It was never a walk away.”
“It was taking a step back instead of slowing down,” said Harry. “It was a very difficult environment, as I think many people have seen. We all know what the British press can be like. And it was destroying my mental health. I was like, ‘This is toxic.’ So I did what any husband and father would do and I thought, ‘I need to get my family out of here’. ”
“But we never moved away,” he added. “And as far as I’m concerned, and whatever decisions are made on that side, I will never give up. I will always be contributing. But my life is public service. So, wherever I am in the world, it will be the same. ”
The Late Late Show
They ended the interview with (what else) an obstacle course:
Corden and royalty were caught filming on a Los Angeles double-decker bus earlier this month. Although CBS did not respond at the time to HuffPost’s request, an anonymous source told People that the duo “recorded a COVID-appropriate segment of ‘Carpool Karaoke on the double deck'” and that there was “a lot of joke and laughter” for friends long standing.
Meghan and Harry will appear together on March 7 for a 90-minute primetime special with Oprah Winfrey, appropriately titled “Oprah with Meghan and Harry”. This will be the first interview for the couple’s cameras since they announced they would return to work as members of the royal family in January 2020.
A year after the couple’s decision, Buckingham Palace confirmed last week that the two “would not return as working members of the Royal Family”.
WPA Pool via Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Queen Elizabeth II at the Queen’s Young Leaders Award Ceremony at Buckingham Palace on June 26, 2018.
A Sussex spokesman said in a statement shared with HuffPost that Harry and Meghan “remain committed to their duty and service in the UK and around the world and have offered their continued support to the organizations they represent, regardless of their official role. ”
“We can all live a life of service,” said the spokesman. “The service is universal.”
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