Stepping back, not stepping down: Prince Harry on royal exit

Prince Harry put his best candid foot forward in an appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden, addressing his exit from the royal family and talking about his son, Archie.

Joining Corden on an open bus tour of Los Angeles, the Duke of Sussex opened up about his decision to ‘step back’ from his royal duties with wife Meghan Markle, an event now popularly regarded as ‘Megxit’.

“It was never walking away — it was stepping back rather than stepping down. It was a difficult environment, as I think a  lot of people saw. We all know what the British press can be like, and it was destroying my mental health,” he said.

The Prince referred to his decision as something “any husband and any father would do.”

“We never walked away. And as far as I’m concerned, whatever decisions I made on that side — I will never walk away. I’ll always be contributing. My life is about public service: wherever I’m in the world, it’s going to be the same thing,” he added.

As for the Netflix hit The Crown, a show that plants its focus on the royal family, Prince Harry revealed that he doesn’t mind it, thanks to it being more fictional. “They don’t pretend to be news. It’s fictional, but it’s loosely based on the truth,” he said.

“Of course it’s not strictly accurate. It gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle is, the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that,” said the 36-year-old grandson of the Queen.

He also revealed that despite being far apart, The Queen and Prince Philip have regular Zoom call sessions with their great-grandson, his son, Archie.

He also mentioned that he is “way more comfortable with ‘The Crown’ than I am seeing the stories written about my family, my wife, or me.”

Watch the show here: