Prince Harry made headlines in April 2022 for a confusing and contradictory claim he made during an interview, which took place at the postponed 2020 Invictus Games in The Hague, when talking about his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. The interview came just a year after Harry made his first trip back to the UK and Meghan and Harry visited Windsor Castle to see the late Queen on their way to the Netherlands.
Interviewed by the American news outlet, Today, Harry was asked how the late Queen was, and he replied: “Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her, you know, she’s on great form, she’s always got a great sense of humour with me and I’m making sure she’s protected and got the right people around her.”
The Daily Mail reports this line did not go down well with the King, who was said to be “at a loss” to explain his son’s behaviour, with the confusing comment.
Today TV host, Hoda Kotb responded to Harry’s comment and said: “You make her laugh, that’s what she always says. Did you do it again?”
Harry replied: “Yes I did. Both Meghan and I had tea with her so it was nice to catch up with her. Home for me now is for the time being is in the States and it feels that way as well. We’ve been welcomed with open arms and we have such a great community up in Santa Barbara.”
The Duke was subsequently mocked by journalist Giles Coren, for his “protection” comment. He wrote in The Times: “If he doesn’t keep his grandmother on the straight and narrow, who knows what could happen? She could, say, marry someone unsuitable, or fall out with her entire family.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior working royals in 2020 and have since relocated to Montecito, California where they currently live with their two children.
While Harry did not elaborate on the comment, the interview came just over a year after the Sussexes’ explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Since stepping down as senior royals, the opinion polls have shown a steep decline in Harry and Meghan’s popularity with members of the public.
A YouGov poll in May 2025 showed only 27 per cent of the public held a positive view of Harry, with just 20 per cent of people having a positive view of Meghan.
This is in comparison to November 2017 when 81 per cent of Britons told the polls they had a positive view of Harry and almost half liked Meghan.