I still want my children to be close to their royal relatives, says Duke

‘I would love nothing more than for our children to have relationships with members of my family’

THE Duke of Sussex has said he would “love nothing more” than for his children to have a relationship with the Royal family.

In the first print interview about his memoir, Prince Harry told People that Archie, three, and Lilibet, 19 months, had a relationship with “some” members of his family, which brings him “great joy”.

His comments in the US celebrity magazine come after he expressed concern for the “young kids” in the Royal household, saying that he hoped efforts to reform the monarchy would help.

In the interview published on the day Spare was published, he said: “I’ve said before that I’ve wanted a family, not an institution.

“So of course, I would love nothing more than for our children to have relationships with members of my family, and they do with some, which brings me great joy.”

The only member of the Royal family Prince Harry is known to remain close to is Princess Eugenie, whom he talks about in his memoir and whom he still sees regularly.

The Duke has been criticised for the highly personal nature of the revelations in Spare, but insisted that it was a “raw account of my life – the good, the bad and everything in between”. He told

People: “I don’t want to tell anyone what to think of it and that includes my family … my hope has been to turn my pain into purpose.”

His comments come in the wake of days of revelations from the book, which was officially published yesterday, but went on sale early in Spain.

Neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace has commented on any of the allegations.

Among the revelations in his memoir was that his mother’s former butler made his “blood boil” when he published a book about Princess Diana following her death.

The Duke accused Paul Burrell, who served as a footman for the Queen and was later Diana’s butler for 10 years, of “milking” her death for a profit when he published his book A Royal Duty, which made a series of private disclosures.

In his latest interview for US TV, which aired late last night, Prince Harry was served tequila shots.

After showing a teaser of the interview on host Stephen Colbert mocked his upcoming guest, saying that the Duke’s memoir was “also available on audiobook and a commemorative plate”.

He added: “I’ve read the book. It’s very enjoyable, quite emotional, quite revealing. I’m going to have so much to talk about with his Harryness.”

After playing a clip of the Duke saying how “hurt” he’d been by the Prince of Wales ignoring him at Eton, Colbert quipped: “That is heartbreaking … to be rejected by his older brother at school even though that magic hat sorted them into the same house.”

“What do you think?” he asked his audience. “Hufflepuff? Hufflepuff?

“Gryffindor, I’m not sure,” he said, in a reference to the houses at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books.

In his People interview, the Duke said he had a “beautiful and blessed life” with a platform that brought with it a “responsibility” to be used wisely.

“I feel I am exactly where I am meant to be and exactly where we [my family] are meant to be.”

He added: “My relationship with Meghan has opened my eyes to so much I fear I otherwise would have never fully understood.

“To this day, I’m doing important and necessary work to understand and address unconscious bias. It’s everevolving and requires us to step up and speak out where we can – even when it’s our friends, families or loved ones.”