How Prince Harry hits his stride
New jobs, a California lifestyle and a baby on the way – the prince is stepping out of his wife’s shadow, but there are family rifts to mend
YOU need to cope with whatever life throws at you to become the best version of yourself.
This was part of Prince Harry’s first motivational message for the mental health company that gave him a job earlier this year – and they may well be the words he’s trying to live by himself.
Life has been throwing him a lot since he and wife Meghan exited the royal family last year. To many in the land of his birth he’s a traitor who turned his back on his heritage, his family and his country to serve his own interests.
To his supporters, he’s just following his heart, carving a life for himself and his family away from the rigours and rules of the royals. And becoming financially independent and throwing himself into causes dear to his heart.
This was evident again when Harry appeared at a Vax Live charity concert in Los Angeles recently, joining a high-proY file line up of celebs that included Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Selena Gomez and Nomzamo Mbatha.
The prince was given a standing ovation after telling the crowd of vaccinated frontline workers: “you are awesome”.
Harry and Meghan are chairs of the Vax Live campaign and the prince gave a five-minute address in which he called for Covid-19 vaccines to be shared with poorer countries around the world.
“We must look beyond ourselves with empathy and compassion for those we
know and those we don’t,” he said.
It was the first public speech Harry had given since his and Meghan’s tell-all interview with Oprah and hopes had been high that Meghan, now nearing the end of her second pregnancy, would be there too.
But it was up to her husband to wow the crowds in yet another step along a journey of the cool king of California.
BEACH BOY!
Whatever you may think of Harry and his choices, it’s clear he’s thriving in the sunshine of his adopted hometown.
“I’m loving it; it’s fantastic,” he told the British Rugby Football League in a virtual engagement last September to mark the league’s 125th birthday.
That much was evident when Harry was spotted on a beach near his home in Montecito shortly before his grandfather died, looking like any other carefree young man enjoying the sand, sea and surf with only his dog (and a discreet bodyguard) for company.
With his cap on backwards, wearing a T-shirt, baggy shorts and shades, he was a far cry from the stiff and often miserable-looking guy he was before Megxit.
“He looked like any other Montecito local doing his thing,” a source told People. “He was very relaxed.”
Harry paid tribute to his new base, between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez mountains, during his interview with Oprah.
“To have outdoor space where we can go for walks as a family and with the dogs . . . ” he said. “We can go for hikes or go down to the beach which is so close.
“The highlight for me is sticking Archie on the back of a bicycle in his baby seat and taking him on a bike ride which is something I was never able to do when I was young.”
‘WE MUST LOOK BEYOND OURSELVES WITH EMPATHY AND COMPASSION FOR THOSE WE KNOW AND THOSE WE DON’T’ ‘THE HIGHLIGHT FOR ME IS TAKING ARCHIE ON A BIKE RIDE WHICH I WAS NEVER ABLE TO DO’
EARNING HIS KEEP
Harry and Meghan made headlines last year when they netted mega-million-dollar deals with streaming giants Netflix and Spotify but Harry has increasingly stepped out on his own this year.
In mid-March he landed his first “real” job as chief impact officer at BetterUp, a Silicon Valley start-up that offers clients mental health coaching.
CEO Alexi Robichaux described Harry’s role in the company as “meaningful and meaty” and said he’d be providing input on strategy decisions and contributions to charity. He didn’t divulge how much the prince will be paid.
In a company blog post, Harry said he and Alexi had a shared passion for helping others and said he’d “personally benefited” from BetterUp coaching.
“What I’ve learnt in my own life is the power of transforming pain into purpose,” he added.
Shortly afterwards he’d bagged another position: joining the Aspen Institute’s new Commission on Information Disorder.
“The experience of today’s digital world has us inundated with an avalanche of misinformation, affecting our ability as individuals as well as societies to think clearly and truly understand the world we live in,” Harry said.
“It’s my belief that this is a humanitarian issue and as such, it demands a multi-stakeholder response from advocacy voices, members of the media, academic researchers and both government and civil society leaders.
“I look forward to working on a solution-oriented approach to the information disorder crisis.”
Last year Harry lambasted Facebook and similar platforms for stoking a “crisis of hate” and said advertisers had a duty to force social media to eliminate negativity.
The projects are all helping Harry to feel “liberated and excited about life”, an insider says. “He has no regrets.”
The couple’s newfound freedom means everything to them, another source says.
“They love that they’re able to focus on projects and causes that are important to them. They took a huge leap of faith to embark on their new life and despite everything that’s been going on, they don’t regret their move to the US.
“Harry is finally doing what he’s wanted to do for years, and to have Meghan and Archie with him is all he could have asked for.”
Harry is also champing at the bit to get cracking with his first docuseries for Netflix, which will focus on his beloved Invictus Games.
The global competition for wounded war veterans and soldiers, which he founded in 2014, has been postponed twice because of the pandemic. However, organisers have confirmed it’s set to go ahead next April in The Hague.
Harry will be the executive producer of the series, which will focus on the training and life stories of a group of international competitors.
It will be filmed under the Sussexes’ newly formed Archewell Productions and directed and produced by Oscar-winning duo Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara. Celebrity agent Jonathan Shalit believes Harry’s flurry of projects may be a case of him “trying to keep up” with his wife.
“Meghan is a hugely astute woman, very bright and incredibly impressive,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “So for Harry to keep up with her he’s got to find his own name and identity and this is the start.
“He doesn’t need celebrity. When you’re a royal, you’re the biggest celebrity in the world. But what this does is allow Harry to have relevance.”
‘THEY LOVE THAT THEY’RE ABLE TO FOCUS ON PROJECTS AND CAUSES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THEM’
AS ALWAYS, IT’S COMPLICATED
He may be settling in well, but Harry would have to be a robot not to be affected by the cloud of anger and resentment his Oprah interview has caused and how it’s affected his relationships, especially with his brother, Prince William, and his father, Prince Charles.
Harry reportedly had a “frosty reception” from members of the royal family when he flew to London for Prince Philip’s funeral last month and it’s believed Princess Anne, Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, didn’t acknowledge him before or during the service. Tentative peace talks between Harry, William and Charles after the funeral are said to have been unproductive.
The three reconvened along with Kate, who royal sources say has been playing mediator between the warring brothers, at Frogmore Cottage – the house he and Meghan lived in before their abrupt departure last year.
The brothers are meant to reunite again on 1 July for the unveiling of a new statue of their mother, Princess Diana, at Kensington Palace to commemorate what would’ve been her 60th birthday and to recognise the impact she had in the UK and around the world.
The brothers commissioned the statue a few years ago but some royal commentators are questioning whether Harry will return for the grand reveal in two months’ time.
“He may use the birth or impending birth of his second child as a convenient excuse not to face the family,” royal expert Russell Myers told Talk Radio.
Certainly, his grim face at Philip’s funeral appeared not to be just borne of grief. UK radio host Kevin O’Sullivan said the prince certainly looked “very out of sorts”. “I think he was shocked by the cool reception he got from his family, which begs the question: will he come back for the unveiling of the Diana’s memorial or will he pull out of that?”
Veteran royal commentator Richard Kay says Charles wants William to take the lead in burying the hatchet and believes Harry will come to the unveiling.
“Both princes have committed to the date.”
Fellow royal expert Katie Nichol agrees. “My understanding is it’s still Harry’s intention to be here for the unveiling. For him, it’s almost inconceivable that he wouldn’t be here, whatever the situation may be with William.”
Duncan Larcombe, author of Prince Harry: The Inside Story, believes Harry may well regret revealing as much as he did to Oprah, when he accused the royal family of racism and of ignoring Meghan’s mental health issues.
Oprah herself recently said even she was surprised by some of the revelations.
“I was like, ‘What? You’re going there? You’re going all the way there?’” she said on the Nancy O’Dell Show.
“Harry was clearly hurt and angry about Meghan’s experience with the royals and used the interview to get it out,” Duncan says. “He’s hot-headed and acts on emotions, but then regrets it later.
“But I do believe he’s now feeling embarrassed and awkward. He’s facing the consequences. I believe he’ll regret that interview – and maybe his decision to leave the royal family.”
Paul Burrell, former butler to Princess Diana, says the funeral trip would’ve stirred up all kinds of emotions for Harry.
“Seeing his family – the family he criticised – would have been extremely difficult. Seeing his beloved granny, the queen, face to face and his father and brother wouldn’t have been easy.
“He’ll really have felt the impact of the decision he’s made. His heart is on two sides of the Atlantic now.
SOURCES: INDEPENDENT.CO.UK, COSMOPOLITAN.COM, DAILYMAIL.CO.UK, YAHOO.COM, WOMANANDHOME.COM, INSIDEEDITION.COM, STUFF.CO.NZ