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As one of the most famous redheads in the world, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is a regular in news headlines. Born into the British royal family in 1984, he steadily gained media attention as he went through his infamous bad boy era as a young man. As a royal, there is a protocol for how one should behave in public, and Harry seemed to always do the opposite, paving the way for rumors about his character. In 2005, Harry dressed up as a Nazi soldier for a costume party that was themed “natives and colonials,” as he wrote in his memoir, “Spare.” Given the magnitude of what the uniform signifies, his choice of a not-so-clever costume faced worldwide disapproval, prompting an apology from the royal. A few years prior, in 2002, Harry’s father, then-prince Charles, took him to visit a rehabilitation center after finding out he was consistently using recreational drugs and consuming alcohol. And the laundry list of controversies continues.
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The Duke of Sussex is aware of how the public perceived his behavior, and in 2015, when visiting a correction center in South Africa, he told young boys there that he wasn’t a model character. “When I was at school I wanted to be the bad boy,” he said, per The Times. In giving credit where it is due, the royal’s behavior did a full 180 as he matured. Harry has involved himself in humanitarian efforts, often advocating for mental health preservation and supporting the less fortunate through various means (including the Archewell Foundation he founded with his wife, Meghan Markle). Harry is now a less problematic royal, yet rumors about his past and present life continue to swirl. Here are some the prince can’t seem to escape from.
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Some claimed he was born from an affair
Prince Harry was much like his mother, Princess Diana — they both had rebellious personalities and were constantly discussed in the media for the royal protocol they broke. In 1986, two years after the Duke of Sussex was born to Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles, the princess met Major James Hewitt at a party hosted by a friend. A light conversation about horse riding paved the way for a five-year affair. Though this relationship began after Harry’s birth, rumor had it that the British officer was the young boy’s father.
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While some believe there is a striking resemblance between the two, it is impossible for Hewitt to be Harry’s biological father given the time frame in which he met Princess Diana. But this didn’t keep Prince Charles from making his jokes about the claims. “Pa liked telling stories, and this was one of the best in his repertoire,” Harry wrote in “Spare.” “He’d always end with a burst of philosophizing … Who knows if I’m really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if I’m even your real father?” Understandably, Harry was annoyed by the quips, and the rumors were allegedly also painful for Diana. “She was tormented [by] the press and the hounding of all these stories,” Renae Plant, the keeper of the Princess Diana Museum, told Fox News Digital.
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Aware of the rumors, Hewitt set the record straight. In 2017, he appeared on the Australian Television program “Sunday Night” and confirmed he was not Harry’s father. He also said the longstanding rumor likely affects Harry more than it does him (via Vanity Fair).
He was rumored to have racist tendencies
Throughout Prince Harry’s life, he has faced accusations of being racist. In one instance in 2009, while serving in the British military, former newspaper News of the World released a self-recorded video from 2006 where the royal refers to one of his Pakistani military colleagues as a “Paki,” which is a derogatory term for Pakistani people (via The Guardian). In the same video, Harry refers to another colleague as a “raghead,” a word military members use to reference Taliban fighters. The duke’s loose lips cost him reprimands and inquiries from politicians and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. In response to the public backlash, Harry’s press team issued an apology. “Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be and is extremely sorry for any offense his words might cause,” spokesman Patrick Harrison said.
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That same year, NBC News reported that Stephen K. Amos, a Black British comedian, alleged that Harry told him “you don’t sound like a black chap” following a set at a birthday celebration for then-Prince Charles. Harry never responded to these claims. In a 2023 “60 Minutes” interview with Anderson Cooper, he admitted that he was likely bigoted before his relationship with his now-wife, Meghan Markle. “Put it this way, I didn’t see what I now see,” he said. Harry commented on the 2006 video where he called his colleague a “Paki” saying, “I was 21, I’d grown up isolated from the real world and surrounded by privileges, and I believed that word was like saying ‘Yankee’. Innocuous.” He noted that he apologized to his colleague, who forgave the royal for his actions.
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Many believed Meghan Markle ruined his relationship with Prince William
As Prince Harry and Prince William grew up, their relationship seemed exceptionally strong. But in 2018, the royal brothers’ bond began to publicly deteriorate based on a difference in opinion about Harry’s relationship with actor Meghan Markle. The two went from sibling goals to just plain old siblings, leaving many wondering whether they were as close as the public thought. In a 2023 “60 Minutes” interview with Anderson Cooper, Harry provided clarification. He admitted that he loved his brother, but also said society’s idea of their perfect brotherhood was off. The royal said the shift in their relationship began after the death of their mother, Princess Diana. He even recalled one instance when he was starting high school and Prince William told him to pretend they didn’t know each other. “I couldn’t make sense of it,” Harry said.
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He insisted that his wife had played no role in the distance between him and his brother. In a piece for Variety, royal correspondent Katie Nicholl spoke to one of Harry’s mutual friends, who said he and his brother’s clash “was only resolved when Charles stepped in and asked William to make an effort.” In the 2019 documentary “Harry & Meghan: An African Journey,” Nicholl said the brothers’ relationship would likely not return to its original state. Harry, it seems, appears to agree. “We are certainly on different paths at the moment, but I’ll always be there for him, as I know he’ll always be there for me,” he said.
He was said to be a poor romantic partner
Throughout Prince Harry’s life and “bad-boy era,” he had a few unstable romantic relationships, leading many to believe he was incapable of commitment. Harry’s most notable bonds seemed to end due to the public attention that came with dating a royal, as was the case with his on-again, off-again relationship with Zimbabwean businesswoman, Chelsy Davy. The two dated between 2004 and 2010 after meeting in South Africa. In his memoir “Spare,” Harry explains that he was smitten with Davy because his royal status was unimpressive to her, and she could not fathom spending her life in the public eye, which he understood.
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Prince Harry dated a handful of women before meeting his now-wife, actor Meghan Markle, in 2016. The two first communicated over Instagram and later met for a date in London, and they’ve been together since then. After getting married in 2018, starting a family, and denouncing their royal titles due to constant public and media scrutiny, the couple moved to the United States for a private life.
As their marriage developed, the two made fewer public appearances together, causing many to believe that Harry was once again experiencing romantic woes and on his way to a divorce. In late 2024, when asked about his relationship at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, he affirmed that his marriage was fine while noting how difficult it was having constant media scrutiny on his life from the media (via People). He said he tries to ignore the rumors about his romantic life and is more focused on being a great father and husband.
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He was seen as unfit to fulfill royal duties
As Prince Harry’s name remained in headlines for all the wrong reasons, many believed he was unfit to fulfill royal duties. However, he often proved his critics wrong, stepping in to serve when needed. For instance, in 2012, Prince Harry was among those responsible for leading official country visits on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrated 60 years in power. A few years later, in 2016, he successfully carried out a 14-day official tour to the Caribbean on behalf of the queen to help strengthen diplomatic ties. The queen gave him the title of “Commonwealth Youth Ambassador” just two years later. Aside from official royal duties, Prince Harry has committed himself to humanitarian efforts, including establishing and working with foundations that serve disadvantaged people.
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Despite proving he could handle royal duties, Harry gave up these responsibilities in 2020 when he denounced his royal title and moved to the U.S. with his wife.Yet in August 2024, the Daily Mail reported that Prince Harry contacted old friends in the U.K., seeking the chance to return to former social circles and resume royal duties. A source told the media outlet a friend of Harry’s “believes there is a real chance Harry could even carry out very low-key royal duties again one day” but noted the responsibilities would not be as extensive as before. Prince Harry has not confirmed that these rumors are true, and in his 2023 “60 Minutes” interview with Anderson Cooper, he said it was unlikely he’d ever return to serve in a royal capacity.
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