‘Fresh Prince’ Harry clarifies family decision

LONDON—Prince Harry, who decamped from England to Southern California last year, rapped the theme song to the 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of BelAir” during a late-night talk show appearance in which he said he didn’t walk away from his royal duties.

During a segment on the CBS television network’s “The Late, Late Show with James Corden” that aired early Friday, Harry said he decided to step away from his work as a front-line member of the Royal Family to protect his wife and son — and his mental health.

“It was stepping back rather than stepping down,” he said. “It was a really difficult environment, which I think a lot of people saw, so I did what any father or husband would do and thought, ‘How do I get my family out of here?’ … As far as I’m concerned, whatever decisions are made on that side, I will never walk away.”

The appearance marked Harry’s first interview since his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, stripped the prince and his wife, the former actress Meghan Markle, of their remaining royal duties this month. Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the couple airs March 7.

The prince also offered a glimpse of the couple’s life in Montecito, where they generally watch the game show “Jeopardy” and Netflix programs before going to bed. Archie’s first word was “crocodile,” Harry said.

During the lighthearted segment, which didn’t touch on the royal couple’s commercial ventures, Corden and the prince tour Southern California on an open top bus. At one point they arrived outside the mansion where the opening sequence of Will Smith’s “Fresh Prince” was filmed.

“If it was good enough for the Fresh Prince, it’s good enough for a real prince,” Corden says, walking up the drive. “Do you remember the song?”

Harry raps a verse before turning to Corden for help.