Harry lands a shock new job... editing Today
HE HASN’T been employed since hanging up his Army uniform two years ago.
But now, I can reveal, Prince Harry has finally found a job to do – at least for a day, anyway.
Harry, 32, is to guest edit Radio 4’s flagship current affairs programme Today – becoming the first Royal ever to do so.
The Prince will have a say on the content of all three hours of the news programme under the watchful eye of day-to-day editor Sarah Sands.
Sources say that Harry paid a top secret visit to the Today programme last week to sit in on a show and familiarise himself with the state-of-the-art new studio in the BBC’s New Broadcasting House. He met Justin Webb and Sarah Montague, two of the team of five presenters who host the programme from 6am to 9am six days a week.
A source said: ‘This is being regarded as a major coup for the programme. Harry will be in charge of all three hours and so will have lots of time to fill with his various topics of interest.
‘Harry wants to understand how the media works, just like his mother Diana did, so he got in touch and asked if he could come and sit in on some shows.
‘Then it was suggested that he guest edits the whole thing down the line too. It’s like having royal work experience.’
Harry’s show will be broadcast over the Christmas period.
It will be the first time that any member of the Royal Family has had such a role in a news programme – though Prince Charles read out the daily Thought For The Day segment during the show last year. Insiders say the Prince’s editing slot is confirmation that the younger members of the Royal Family are becoming increasingly comfortable using the media to get their message across.
In April the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the Radio 1 studio for a ‘surprise’ appearance on the Scott Mills afternoon chart show to promote Heads Together, the mental health charity initiative that all three young Royals are supporting. It was deemed to be a great success, though Kate seemed nervous as she read out the official chart top ten.
A BBC source said Harry ‘was there for a private meeting’.