Prince Harry has opened up about his decision to move to the US, become financially independent from the monarchy and how he knew his wife, Meghan Markle, was 'the one'.
Appearing on the latest episode of The Late Late Show with friend James Corden (who attended the couple's royal wedding in 2018), the Duke of Sussex was shown around Los Angeles on an open-air bus (a first for the royal, he said).
In typical Corden fashion, skits like eating scones and drinking tea were involved as was a brief pit-stop at the grand house featured in The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air, with Corden suggesting the real-life Prince should inhabit the home as an LA base.
On the bus, Harry opened up about the move to the US in a rare and insightful interview - weeks before Meghan gives her side of the story to Oprah Winfrey in a televised special. The friends then end the sketch by taking part in a military-style obstacle course, where Harry shows he's still got it when it comes to agility and fitness.
There was a lot revealed in the 17-minute clip, so here are the most candid and fascinating quotes from the sketch:
Prince Harry on his decision to step back as a senior royal
First things first, Harry was quick to clarify that he did not 'walk away' from the royal family and stressed that he will be doing much of the same in the US as he would have in the UK, saying his life is always going to be 'dedicated to public service' and that Meghan signed up to that too by marrying the Duke.
'It was never walking away,' Prince Harry said solemnly. 'It was stepping back rather than stepping down. It was a really difficult environment as I think people saw. We all know what the British press can be like and it was destroying my mental health. This is toxic.
'So I did what any husband or father would do, "I need to get my family away."'
The clip's timing suggests that the sketch was filmed before the Queen confirmed that Harry and Meghan chose not to return as senior working members of the royal family after a 12-month trial run and so their respective patronages and military titles would be returned to other members of the family.
'Whatever decisions are made on that side, I will never walk away. I will always be contributing. My life is public service so wherever I am in the world it's going to be the same thing,' he said.
Prince Harry on knowing Meghan Markle was 'the one'
'The second date I started to think, "oh, this is pretty special"... it was the way we hit it off with each other and how comfortable we were in each other's company,' Harry told Corden.
He also shed light on what it's like to date a royal noting: 'Dating with any member of the royal family is flipped upside down, all the dates become dinners or watching TV or chatting at home... everything was done back to front with us. So we got to spend an enormous amount of time just the two of us and that was an amazing thing. We went from 0 to 60 in the first two months.'
Prince Harry on he and Meghan's normal life
Harry also spoke about what a regular night in for the proud parents is like now (the couple are expecting their second child), which sounds pretty normal to be honest.
'We do Archie's tea, give him a bath, read him a book, put him down, go downstairs, Meg might cook a meal or order a takeaway. Go upstairs, get in bed, put the TV on and watch some Jeopardy!, maybe watch a little bit of Netflix,' he revealed.
Prince Harry on Archie's first word
The 36-year-old adorably raved about his eldest son, calling him 'hysterical' and suggesting that the 21-month-old is pretty intelligent, disclosing that Archie's first word was 'crocodile'.
Prince Harry on what the Queen got Archie for Christmas
Prepare yourselves.
Because Queen Elizabeth II gifted her great-grandson a waffle maker on Meghan's suggestion.
'My grandmother asked what Archie wanted for Christmas, Meg said a waffle maker. She sent us a waffle maker for Archie so breakfast now, Meg makes up a beautiful organic mix in the waffle maker, flips it, out it comes and he loves it,' he said.
Adorably, Harry said Archie wakes up in the morning and says: 'Waffle'.
Harry also said that both his grandparents, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, know how to use Zoom and the couple have video called with them 'a few times' where they've seen Archie. However, in what we expect to be typical Prince Philip fashion, judging from his no nonsense approach over the years, he ends the call by shutting the laptop screen when it's over rather than leaving via clicking the button.
Prince Harry on The Crown
Asked directly about one of Netflix's biggest shows, The Crown, Harry seemed pretty into the whole thing, saying: 'They don't pretend to be news. It's fictional but it's loosely based on the truth... it gives you a rough idea of what that lifestyle is like, what the pressures of putting duty and service above everything else, what can from that.
'I'm way more comfortable with The Crown than seeing stories written about my family, my wife or myself. Because that is obviously fiction, take it how you will but this is being reported as fact because you're supposedly news. I have a real issue with that.'
Asked who he would like to portray himself on the royal drama, Prince Harry responded with minimal hesitation: Damian Lewis. We can see it now.
Meghan Markle makes a cameo as Prince Harry appears on James Corden's Late Late Show
The Duchess of Sussex made a cameo in the 17-minute clip too, appearing on FaceTime to check out the Fresh Prince property joking that the couple had 'moved enough' of late to consider the home, and asking her husband how the tour was going, referring to him as 'Haz'.
When Corden quizzed the royal on this nickname and whether he could call him it, Harry replied: 'You're not my wife'.
Fair enough.
Watch the clip in full here:
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