Prince Harry has likened life in the British Royal Family to that of Downton Abbey, except that the show had less “drama.”
The 41-year-old made the joke during a speech at the British-American Business Council’s 65th Annual Christmas Luncheon held in Santa Monica on December 5, where he was attending as a speaker and distinguished guest.
While on stage, he compared life as a royal to that of the famed British show, saying, “People sometimes ask if growing up with the royal family was a bit like [show creator] Julian’s [Fellowes] Downton Abbey. Yeah, but only one of those worlds is filled with drama, intrigue, elaborate dinners [and] marriages to Americans — and the other is a TV show.”
Away from the joke, Harry then reflected on living in the United States as a Brit, taking a more serious tone as he told the audience, “For me, being British isn’t about where you physically stand, but what you stand for.”
He also shared his experience with the Fourth of July, a holiday not celebrated in the United Kingdom, explaining, “It’s a new world to me, celebrating independence from Britain, and more specifically, independence from my great, great, great, great, great, great-grandfather.”
Back to his previously light tone, Harry decided to make a quip at Trump’s current immigration policies as he discussed the upcoming 2026 World Cup, which is to be held in North America.
He jokingly told the audience that he looked forward to welcoming his fellow Brits from “across the pond” for the event, if they can manage to get “through customs” and “past ICE.”
Harry’s speech comes days after he made a surprise appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Pretending that he’d become lost while looking for an audition to play a holiday rom-com prince, he joked, “You Americans are obsessed with Christmas movies, and you’re clearly obsessed with royalty, so why not?”
However, when Stephen attempted to shut down the idea that they’re Americanized obsessions, Harry quickly quipped, “Really? I hear you elected a king,” in reference to Donald Trump.
Following Harry’s appearance on the show, the dad-of-two has faced backlash, with some even demanding that King Charles strip his son of his titles.
Tom Sykes of The Daily Beast penned on his Royalist substack, “I think the royal family has no real choice. Harry believes he’s free to speak his mind now that he’s no longer a working royal. I think if he were truly living as Harry Wales, a private citizen, that argument would hold water. But he isn’t Harry Wales. He’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.”
Continuing, Tom also added, “The titles must be removed, not as punishment but for clarity. Removing them draws a clear blue line between Prince Harry, the royal, and Harry, the private citizen. It protects the monarchy from his volatility.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source the-express.com ’
