Prince Harry NBC interview: Duke of Sussex says he feels very ‘welcome’ in America

Furious Brits and royal experts hit out at Prince Harry today after he said America is now his home and hinted he would not be returning to the UK for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. 

In his latest interview on US television, the Duke of Sussex cast doubt about his presence at the jubilee celebrations in London in June amid the ongoing security row with the UK’s Home Office.

However, in a revelation that appalled Brits, he also added: ‘Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it’s in the States. And it feels that way as well.’

This comes despite his lawyers telling the High Court in February of the UK: ‘This is and always will be his home.’

The Duke said he and his wife Meghan Markle had been ‘welcomed with open arms and we have such a great community up in Santa Barbara’ in California.

In the interview, Harry refused to say whether he misses his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William amid their ongoing feud – but insisted that he talks with the Queen ‘about things she can’t talk about with anybody else’. 

He also claimed that he was ‘making sure’ the Queen is ‘protected’ and has ‘the right people around her’. 

In addition, he praised the Queen’s ‘sense of humour’ and spoke of their ‘really special relationship’ following their surprise meeting at Windsor Castle last Thursday where he had tea with her and his wife Meghan Markle. 

Harry also spoke about his mantra of ‘trying to make the world a better place for my kids’ while explaining his fears that he could face ‘burnout’ while working from home at his £11million mansion in Montecito, California. 

And, talking about his late mother Princess Diana, Harry told NBC’s Today that he feels her ‘presence in almost everything that I do now’ and he talks to his son Archie about her and there are photos of her in their home. 

However, the interview raised eyebrows in Britain, with royal fans taking to social media to hit out at the duke. 

One said: ‘Prince Harry says he now feels America is his home. That’s good, stay there. Not wanted here!’

Another wrote: ‘What the hell does he mean…protected? ….You have become American Harry … so just stay there.’

While a third added: ‘Prince Harry said he has found peace in California. Let him stay there. The British Royals have had much more peace since his wife left their domiciles. And, they aren’t too happy with Harry either.’ 

Meanwhile, royal author Tom Bower told MailOnline: ‘Harry’s full demands have been rebuffed and he is hitting out at those standing in the way of promoting the Sussex’s self-promotion. To enhance his credibility in America and for Netflix he needs to pretend that he has a special relationship with the Queen. I don’t believe the British public would tolerate Harry and Meghan on the balcony. Allowing them there would be self-destructive for the monarchy. That’s why I don’t believe they will come.’ 

He added: ‘The recent speculation has been created by their Hollywood publicists to force the Palace to accept the Sussexes’ demands. It’s becoming an unseemly battle which the Palace needs to firmly squash.’

Royal author Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, told Sky News: ‘I think they (Harry and Meghan) might well be here for part of the Jubilee, but I don’t see them sitting on the Buckingham Palace balcony with the rest of the family. Clearly, from what Harry said, he hasn’t really had any connection with his brother.’ 

And royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline today: ‘His refusal to comment on missing Charles and William shows the royal rift is still deep. That much is abundantly clear.’ 

But another expert, Robert Jobson, author of the forthcoming book ‘William At 40: The Making of a Modern Monarch’ out next month, told MailOnline that he felt Harry did not want to talk about William and Charles to help rebuild trust between the family.

He said: ‘This is a family and any family in the world there’s always some issues, but to be any form of rapprochement or rebuilding of relationships there needs to be first steps. For that to happen there needs to be an element of trust. If he goes on TV starting to blurt out things for personal gain it’s going to eliminate that trust. You should read into the fact that he didn’t talk about his brother and father, which was probably a wise move because there needs to be more trust built there. When he talked about them openly that was probably what caused a bit of distress. So he was probably quite wise not to talk about them.’

Asked during the interview – which aired today – what is the best thing about the Queen, Prince Harry said: ‘Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can’t talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think… after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.’ 

And asked about the Jubilee celebrations, he said: ‘I don’t know yet. There’s lots of things with security issues and everything else. This is what I’m trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.’  

But when questioned over whether he misses Charles and William, the Duke was keen to swerve the subject, telling presenter Hoda Kotb: ‘For me at the moment, I’m here focused on these guys [Invictus athletes] and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That’s my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.’ 

Buckingham Palace officials have been braced for sensational claims from the Duke of Sussex‘s interview, after a trailer revealed last night that he is ‘making sure the Queen is protected and has the right people around her’. 

Harry also praised the monarch’s ‘great sense of humour’ and said it was ‘really nice to catch up with her’ during their supposedly secret meeting last Thursday before he arrived in The Hague for the Invictus Games. 

‘Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her, she’s on great form,’ he said in an interview with NBC Today presenter Kotb in the Netherlands, where he is currently hosting the tournament.

‘She’s always got a great sense of humour with me and I’m just making sure she’s protected and got the right people around her. Both Meghan and I had tea with her, so it was really nice to catch up with her.’ 

His visit to the Games with Meghan – who has since left The Hague to return to California to look after Archie and Lilibet – was the first time the couple had been seen together publicly on this side of the Atlantic for two years.

Harry also said in the NBC interview: ‘Home for me now, for the time being, is in the States and it feels that way as well. We’ve been welcomed with open arms and we have such a great community up in Santa Barbara.’ 

The couple moved to the Montecito area of Santa Barbara in California following their decision to step down as senior royals in early 2020, saying they wanted a new life of personal and financial freedom. 

Here is what Harry said in the interview, in chronological order of how it was shown on NBC’s Today programme:

– Invictus Games athletes saying it saved their life makes Harry ‘incredibly sad’

Prince Harry said stories told by athletes at the Invictus Games about how it has saved their life make him ‘incredibly sad’.

Kotb said she was approached by a woman who told her ‘something that totally struck me in my soul’, adding: ‘She said the Invictus Games saved my life. How does that land for you?’

Harry responded by saying it ‘feels amazing’, but added: ‘Every single Games that I go to I hear the same thing from so many of them.’

He said this ‘feels amazing that we have managed to play a part in their recovery, but it also makes me incredibly sad to know that that’s how dark it was for them.’

– Harry says people should try to stay away from things that ‘trigger’ them

Kotb also asked him about mental health issues, saying: ‘When you put that heavy backpack down, like people are lugging stuff around, when you finally put it down. Do you feel yourself like peaceful, or at peace?’

Harry responded by saying he thinks ‘everyone ends up feeling lighter’, adding: ‘For so many people it is about management. You know the things that trigger you, therefore you try and stay away from that.

‘But what I do know is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for absolutely everybody.’

Kotb also asked him whether he feels peaceful having now lived in the US for two years.

And Harry said: ‘I don’t know how many people feel truly peaceful, you know? I feel — at times I feel massively at peace. But with everything that is going on in the world and trying to help and trying to use the platform and the influence to try and steer people to try and help.’

He said that ‘the biggest concern or the biggest issue that people wrestle with on daily basis that does provide more anxiety for me and for them is the helplessness’.

Harry said human beings are ‘compassionate people’, but continued: ‘When your life becomes really hard, it can be for some harder to find the compassion for other people.

‘But what I’ve learned over the years is, certainly for myself, I find healing in helping others. And I think that what’s we should really be focusing on.’

– A normal day for Harry ‘revolves around the kids as much as humanly possible’

Kotb spoke about how much of life ‘happens on a random Wednesday’ when people are not experiencing ups such as holidays, marriages or babies – or downs such as death or divorce.

She asked Harry what a ‘Wednesday’ is like for him, and he replied: ‘It revolves around the kids as much as humanly possible. This whole working from home stuff is not all it’s cracked up to be, certainly post-Covid.

‘Because it is really hard when your kids and you are in the same place. It is really hard to separate the work from them. Because they kind of overlap.

‘So I mean Archie spends more time interrupting our Zoom calls than anybody else. But he also gets us off them as well, so that’s also a nice thing.’

– Harry says Archie has got his ‘cheeky’ personality

Kotb asked Harry whether Archie has his personality and whether he is ‘kind of like you’ and referenced the Duke’s ‘cheeky thing’

Harry replied: ‘My cheeky thing? Yeah, I think so. I always try and keep that. The cheekiness is something that keeps you alive. There is just so much to be happy about in the outside world, but there is also so much to worry about.

‘My sort of mantra now every day, and it is a dangerous one, because I need to make sure that I don’t have burnout, but is trying to make the world a better place for my kids.

‘Otherwise what is the point of point of bringing kids into this world? It is a responsibility I feel as a parent you probably feel as a parent as well. And we can’t fix everything. We know that. But what we can do is be there for each other.’

– Harry says it was ‘great’ to see the Queen

Kotb asked Harry about his trip to see his grandmother the Queen at Windsor Castle last week.

He told her: ‘It was great. It was really nice to see her. To be able to see her in some element of privacy was nice. I hadn’t had the chance to go back the UK for couple of years apart from those two times.

‘One for my grandfather’s funeral and one for unveiling a statue of my mum.’

Asked ‘how did it feel being back, being with her’, Harry replied: ‘Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her. You know, she’s on great form. She has always got a great sense of humour with me and I’m just making sure she’s protected and has got the right people around her.’

Kotb also asked Harry whether he made her laugh, and he said: ‘Yes I did. I had tea with her. It was really nice to catch up with her.

– Harry says home is ‘in the States’

The Duke said that ‘home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it’s in the States. And it feels that way as well.’

Kotb asked: ‘Does it?’

And Harry replied: ‘Yeah. We’ve been welcomed with open arms. And we’ve got such a great community up in Santa Barbara.’

Kotb said: ‘So you feel like that’s home more for you?’ She also asked Harry whether that was ‘weird to say?’, but he replied: ‘No. But I’m sure it will become a thing.’

– Harry praises ‘sense of humour’ of Queen and their ‘special relationship’

Kotb pointed out that Harry’s grandmother is going to be 96 years old tomorrow, and asked him: ‘What is the best thing about her?’

The Duke replied: ‘Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship.

‘We talk about things that she can’t talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think she’s… I think after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.’

Kotb said: ‘You do, do think she’s bored of her 96th. She won’t be bored of the Jubilee, will she?

But Harry replied: ‘No. I don’t think so. She’s had a few Jubilees now and every one is slightly different. I’m sure she is looking forward to it.’

– Harry hints that he might not come to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations

Kotb asked Harry whether he thinks he will come to London for the Queen’s celebrations for her Platinum Jubilee in June.

But he said: ‘I don’t know yet. There’s lots of things with security issues and everything else. So, this is what I’m trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.’

There has been speculation in recent days whether Harry will make a balcony appearance with the Queen during the celebrations.

– Harry says he misses his family but refuses to talk about Charles and William

Kotb asked Harry: ‘Your family at home. Do you miss them?’

He replied: ‘Yes. I think especially over the last two years, for most people, have they not missed their family? The ability to even get home and see them? Of course. That’s — you know, that’s a huge part of it.’

She then pushed him on William and Charles, saying: ‘But do you miss your brother, your dad?

Harry refused to say anything further, instead talking about the Invictus Games, saying: ‘Look I mean, for me at the moment, I’m here focused on these guys and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime.

‘That’s my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.’

– Harry says focus hasn’t changed since he left Britain for America

Kotb talked about Harry’s ‘whole restart’ since he stepped down as a senior royal in 2020, saying: ‘You have a whole new focus, a whole new nucleus. How does that land with you?’

But Harry replied: ‘I think the focus is very much the same’

Questioned by Kotb who said ‘Is it?’, he continued: ‘Yeah, certainly. From my wife’s point of view. For the two of us, this is a life she signed up for and we were committed to doing this together as a couple forever.

‘Because of the circumstances, we’ve now moved that life of service to the States and we’ll continue doing what we were doing before.

‘So in that regard nothing’s has changed for us. It is just a little bit more complicated to have to sort of restart.’

– Harry says he loves ‘all’ of fatherhood and Archie keeps asking ‘why’ about everything

Kobt asked Harry what he loves about fatherhood, and he replied: ‘What do I love about fatherhood? All of it. The chaos, the learning, the reminder of just every element of yourself, your soul, right?

‘When you are not a parent you can get sucked into all sort of different stuff and you can maybe sometimes forget who you are. And suddenly as a parent, especially now Archie is at the age he is at, asking all the questions.’

The Duke said that Archie was ‘into the why stage’, asking: ‘Why this? Why that? Why that?’

He said that ‘instead of just trying to move it on, I give him the most honest answer I can’, continuing: ‘And then it goes on and on and on until he’s satisfied. And then that’s it. It’s done. Otherwise it ends up with – because the world is round and that it is the way life is.’ 

‘So it’s like, I love it. I love every part of it. I’ve always wanted to be a dad. I’ve always wanted to have my own kids and now I have got two little people who I’m responsible for.’

– Harry says he feels Princess Diana’s presence in ‘almost everything’

Kobt asked Harry whether he tells Archie about his late mother Princess Diana, and he said: ‘Yes. Yeah, yeah. Very much so. I don’t tell him all the stuff that happened. But certainly that this is, you know, grandma Diana and we’ve got a couple of photos up in the house.’

And she asked him whether he ever feels his mother’s presence.

Harry replied: ‘Yeah, no, for me it is constant. It has been over the last two years. More so than ever before. And it is almost as though she’s done her bit with my brother and now she’s very much, like, helping me. Got him set up.

‘And now she’s helping me set up. That’s what it feels like, you know? He’s got his kids. I’ve got my kids, you know the circumstances are obviously different. But now, I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now. But definitely more so in the last two years than ever before. Without question. So she’s watching over us.’

Kobt said: ‘I’m sure she’s proud of you.’ And he replied: ‘I’m sure she is.’

Reacting to his comments, royal correspondent Robert Jobson tweeted: ‘Prince Harry says on US TV he is making sure the Queen is ‘protected and has the right people around her’. How so? I think you’ll find that Prince Charles and Her Majesty’s children and William are DOING just that and supporting the Queen, with actions – and not just words.’

Angela Levin, who wrote the book Harry: Conversations with the Prince, claimed: ‘Harry’s comment on US TV about him checking the Queen is protected is a gross insult to Prince Charles and William. He’s underlined even more that he doesn’t deserve to attend the Jubilee celebrations and be on the Balcony’.

And ex-Conservative MP David Mellor told GB News: ‘On came the news about Harry saying his granny needs to be protected and I fell about. This was a real comic turn. The most best-paid comedian couldn’t be funnier than that. What is the man on? Or rather what is he off?

‘I mean, you just think to yourself, he is really showing signs. But I think what it is, his life is totally distorted now by becoming a Kardashian-type figure, where he’s surrounded by people who want to photograph him because they’re paying him lots of money for the privilege of filming him, and the Queen becomes important to him only because he has to see the Queen for his credibility on Netflix.’ 

It comes ahead of the Queen’s 96th birthday tomorrow and just over a year after the funeral of her husband the Duke of Edinburgh. 

The Palace will be concerned that Harry could make further claims about the Royal Family only a year after his infamous interview to Oprah Winfrey on CBS in which he and Meghan accused unnamed royals of racism.  

The Duke has a deeply strained relationship with his family – especially his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William – and missed last month’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey for his grandfather Prince Philip.

Royal aides will be worried about details from a private meeting being divulged, which come on top of fears over what could be contained in his forthcoming memoirs and Netflix documenting his every move at the Games.

The Duke has already been accused in recent days of using his platform at the Games to promote BetterUp, the California mental health start-up for whom he is ‘chief impact officer’ – after the two announced a partnership.

‘Hoda Kotb sat down with Prince Harry to talk about the Invictus Game, his surprise visit with the Queen, and lie with his wife Meghan Markle,’ the Today show wrote on Twitter yesterday, while also sharing an image of Kotb, Harry, and one of the veterans taking part in the sporting event.  

Teasing the interview, Ms Kotb’s co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin added that the Duke of Sussex will also discuss fatherhood and life with his and Meghan’s two children, Archie, two, and 10-month-old Lilibet.  

Meghan will likely not appear in the Today show interview; she has already left the Netherlands and returned home to California in order to reunite with Archie and Lilibet, having confessed to a military veteran at the Invictus Games that she was missing her two children after being separated from them for the longest time since they were born.  

His on-air sit-down marks the latest in a handful of media interviews that he has done since he and Meghan arrived in The Hague on Friday for the start of this year’s Invictus Games. 

On Monday, the father-of-two broke his silence about the couple’s meeting with the Queen while speaking to the BBC, saying that it was ‘great to see her’ and adding that she ‘would have loved’ to have attended the Invictus Games alongside him.  

Harry, who founded the event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women in 2014, said the 96-year-old monarch ‘had plenty of messages for Team UK’ when he met her at Windsor Castle last week. 

He added he had passed these onto the team, telling the broadcaster: ‘So, it was great to see her and I’m sure she would love to be here if she could.’ 

There were reports Harry and Meghan had promised the Queen she would meet her great-grandchildren Archie and Lilibet ‘in the near future’ during the ‘very cordial’ secret meeting on Thursday. 

According to The Mirror, senior royal sources described the meeting as ‘very cordial’ and ‘incredibly warm and good natured’. 

One royal biographer has claimed the meeting was a way for Prince Harry to ‘slowly starting to rebuild some bridges’ with his father Prince Charles. 

Harry and Meghan reportedly also opened the door to a return from their $14.5 million mansion in California for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, and told her of their plans to visit again so she can spend time with their children.  

While the Queen had the opportunity to meet Archie – who was born while Meghan and Harry were still living in the UK and serving as senior working royals – she has not yet met her great-granddaughter Lilibet, who is named after her. 

Meghan gave birth to Lilibet Diana in June of last year at a hospital near the couple’s Montecito home and they have yet to bring their daughter over to the UK.  

Indeed, the couple’s brief trip to the UK last week marked the first time that Meghan has returned to Britain since she and Harry sensationally quit the royal family in March 2020 – a move that has become widely known as ‘Megxit’. 

Prince Harry has made just a handful of visits to the UK since the couple relocated to California in the wake of Megxit but he chose not to attend Prince Philip’s memorial service, which took place last month – just over two weeks before the Sussexes made their trip to see the Queen.   

His decision to skip the emotional event was met with severe criticism from royal insiders, with Prince Philip’s former protection officer describing Harry’s absence as ‘pathetic’. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remained at their mansion in Montecito while the rest of the royal family, including the Queen despite recent health issues, gathered in London for the poignant event.  

Harry’s absence at the event came amid an ongoing battle about his security; he is currently pursuing a legal challenge against the Home Office in the UK after being told he would no longer be given the ‘same degree’ of personal protective security when visiting from the US, despite offering to pay for it himself.

It is unclear exactly what agreement was reached with regards to security before Meghan and Harry returned to the UK last week. 

However, reports about their meeting with the Queen suggest that the couple is open to attending the Monarch’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June. 

Insiders claim that they have been invited to appear at several family events during the multi-day event, including the traditional balcony appearance and a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s to celebrate the monarch’s 70 years on the throne. 

As well as doing several interviews during his time at the Games, Harry has also been followed by a crew of cameramen from Netflix, which is making a documentary about the sporting event as part of the Sussexes reported multi-million pound deal with the streaming giant. 

Harry’s interview with Kotb is thought to mark the first time that the pair have spoken on-air, although Kotb did interview Oprah Winfrey last year in the wake of her sit-down with the Sussexes.  

Winfrey, 68, spoke with Kotb in May 2021 – just hours after Harry publicly aired more damaging allegations about his family in an Apple TV+ series about mental health. 

During the interview, the TV mogul defended Harry and Meghan’s public bashing of the royal family, insisting that the Sussexes ‘deserve’ to ‘not be intruded and invaded upon’ – but claiming that this shouldn’t mean they are unable to speak out about their experiences.

‘You know, I ask for privacy, and I’m talking all the time,’ she said. 

‘So I think being able to have a life that you are not intruded upon by photographers, or people flying overhead, or invading your life, is what every person wants and deserves — to not to be intruded and invaded upon.

‘That’s what people are missing. Privacy doesn’t mean silence.’ 

Her public defence of the couple came just hours after Harry launched fresh attacks on his family in their new five-part mental health series, which sees the Duke accusing his father Prince Charles of making him ‘suffer’ as a child and claiming that the royals tried to ‘bully him into silence’. 

Harry also alleged that the royal family tried to ‘trap’ him and Meghan, claiming that the couple faced ‘total silence, total neglect’ when they asked The Firm for help.    

‘My mantra is to try to make the world a better place’: Prince Harry fears he will ‘burnout’ as he balances WFH at his £11m Californian mansion with his battle to make life better for Archie and Lilibet 

 BY DANYAL HUSSAIN FOR MAILONLINE 

Prince Harry has revealed he fears he will ‘burnout’ as he tries to make the world a ‘better place’ for his children Archie and Lilibet. 

In his latest interview on US television, the Duke of Sussex said he struggles to balance working from home in his £11 million mansion in Montecito, California with parenting. 

He said: ‘My sort of mantra now every day is a dangerous one because I need to make sure I don’t have burn out. 

‘I make a world a better place for my kids. Otherwise what is the point. Responsibility I feel as a parent you probably feel as well. And we can’t fix everything. We know that. But what we can do is be there for each other.’

He also revealed how working from home is ‘not all it’s cracked up to be’ and admitted that he found it difficult to ‘separate’ his work from Archie and Lilibet. 

He said: ‘This whole working from home stuff is not all it’s cracked up to be. Certainly post-Covid. Because it is really hard when your kids and you are in the same place. It is really hard to separate the work from them. Because they kind of overlap. 

‘Archie spends more time interrupting our zoom calls than anybody else. But he also gets us off them as well, so that’s also a nice thing.’

The couple bought their mansion, which boasts 16 bathrooms, in Montecito, California, last year after quitting frontline royal duties and moving to the US. 

The interview was released as Harry made his latest appearance at the Invictus Games in the Netherlands today. Photos from the event show the prince carrying a water bottle with the word ‘Earth’ emblazoned on it.   

It appears to be from the Earth Group, a Canada-based corporation that says it exists ‘to provide food, water, and education to children globally’. 

The company says it has a worldwide agreement with the United Nations World Food Programme to fund their school feeding programmes. 

Surrounded by lush green gardens and overlooking the sea, the couple’s Californian home has a wine cellar, play area and a pub games room. 

The home also boasts a gym, spa, cinema, separate guesthouse, tennis court, and a swimming pool.

The previous owner of the Chateau of Riven Rock – as their new home is known – was Russian businessman Sergey Grishin – who purchased the property in 2009.

Grishin is also the former owner of a different California estate – known as the Scarface mansion because it appeared in the 1983 Al Pacino movie – which sold for a similarly cut-price $12million in 2015. 

The Duke of Sussex said the family will remain in the US ‘for the time being’ as he admitted to being happy after abandoning his birthplace of Britain.

The 37-year-old ex-Royal told how he had been ‘welcomed with open arms’ by the ‘great’ community in Montecito, Santa Barbara, since moving there nearly two years ago.

He said: ‘Both Meghan and I had tea with her so it was nice to catch up with her. Home for me now is for the time being is in the States and it feels that way as well.’ 

Asked if it was ‘weird’ to say publicly, having spent more than 30 years growing up in the UK, he said: ‘No, but I’m sure it’ll become a thing.’

Elsewhere in the interview, he added: ‘At times I feel massively at peace, but with everything that’s going on in the world…’

In his latest interview on US television, the Duke of Sussex also opened up about his experiences of fatherhood.   

He said: ‘What do I love about fatherhood? All of it. The chaos, the learning, the reminder of just every element of yourself, your soul, right?’ Prince Harry said with a smile. ‘When you are not a parent you can get sucked into all sort of different stuff and you can maybe sometimes forget who you are.’

‘And suddenly as a parent, especially now, Archie is at the age he is at, asking all the questions,’ he revealed.  

‘Why this? Why that? Why that? And instead of just trying to move it on, I give him the most honest answer I can,’ he said. ‘And then it goes on and on and on until he’s satisfied. And then that’s it. It’s done. Otherwise it ends up with – because the world is round and that it is the way life is.’ 

‘So it’s like, I love it. I love every part of it. I’ve always wanted to be a dad,’ he said. ‘I’ve always wanted to have my own kids and now I have got two little people who I’m responsible for.’  

However, placed doubt over whether he would attend his grandmother’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London in June amid the ongoing security row with the Home Office, adding: ‘Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it’s in the States. And it feels that way as well.’

This comes despite his lawyers telling the High Court in February of the UK: ‘This is and always will be his home.’ 

In addition, he praised the Queen’s ‘sense of humour’ and spoke of their ‘really special relationship’ following their surprise meeting at Windsor Castle last Thursday where he had tea with her and his wife Meghan Markle. 

And, talking about his late mother Princess Diana, Harry told NBC’s Today that he feels her ‘presence in almost everything that I do now’ and that he talks to his son Archie about her and there are photos of her in their home. 

Asked what is the best thing about the Queen, he said: ‘Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can’t talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think… after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.’ 

And asked about the Jubilee celebrations, he said: ‘I don’t know yet. There’s lots of things with security issues and everything else. This is what I’m trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.’ 

But when questioned over whether he misses Charles and William, the Duke was keen to swerve the subject, telling presenter Hoda Kotb: ‘For me at the moment, I’m here focused on these guys [Invictus athletes] and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That’s my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.’ 

In a separate interview with People magazine, Harry previously revealed that Lilibet had taken her first steps and is ‘trying to keep up with her big brother Archie’. 

The royal, who is currently at the Invictus Games in The Hague, added he’s a ‘proud papa’ and that little Archie ‘loved’ videos of wheelchair basketball and rugby that he showed him from the Invictus Games in Sydney in 2018.

‘I showed him how some were missing legs and explained that some had invisible injuries, too,’ he said. ‘Not because he asked, but because I wanted to tell him. Kids understand so much, and to see it through his eyes was amazing because it’s so unfiltered and honest.’ 

He added: ‘When I talk to my son Archie about what he wants to be when he grows up, some days it’s an astronaut, other days it’s a pilot — a helicopter pilot obviously — or Kwazii from Octonauts,’ referring to a daredevil cat from a children’s cartoon.

‘But what I remind him is that no matter what you want to be when you grow up, it’s your character that matters most, and nothing would make his mum and me prouder than to see him have the character of what we see before us today,’ he added.

He also previously spoke about his drive to ‘make the world a better place’ for his children and said that people ‘shouldn’t bring children into the world’ unless they’re willing to improve it for them.

Speaking with the Netherlands’ Kindercorrespondent reporters during the Invictus Games at The Hague, Harry said he wanted his two young children, Archie and Lilibet – known as Lili – to grow up ‘in a fairer world, a safer world, a more equal world’.

‘It’s not going to be easy but I will never, ever, ever rest until I have as a parent at least tried to make the world a better place for them because it is our responsibility that the world is the way it is now,’ the Duke told the child reporters, aged 11 and 12.

‘I don’t think that we should be bringing children into the world unless we’re going to make that commitment to make it better for them. We cannot steal your future.’

The Queen is yet to meet her great-granddaughter, Lilibet, who was named after Her Majesty’s childhood nickname. Archie – seventh in line to the British throne – is almost three months old and reports have previously hinted at the Queen’s sadness at not having the chance to spend more time with him. 

Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, 40, made a visit to the Queen last week and told her she will be able to hug her great-grandchildren in ‘the near future’ according to reports.The Duke has a deeply strained relationship with his family – especially his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William – and missed last month’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey for his grandfather Prince Philip. 

Number 10 hits back at Harry’s claims he is ‘making sure the Queen is protected’ – as his war with Home Office over funding for his security rumbles on 

By Dan Sales For Mailonline 

Prince Harry‘s claims he has made sure the Queen is ‘protected’ was rebuffed by No 10 today – who said the PM was confident about her current welfare arrangements.

Downing Street brushed off the Duke’s concerns that Her Majesty may not be being properly looked after.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said he was confident she was – despite Harry’s surprising comments. 

Harry – who was earlier branded ‘delusional’ over the assertion he was ‘protecting’ the Queen – is currently at the Invictus Games in The Hague.

The issue of protection is a burning one for the prince, who himself is at war with the Home Office over his own security in the UK.

Speaking to the Today show about his meeting with the Queen, Harry said: ‘Being with her it was great, it was just so nice to see her, she’s on great form.

‘She’s always got a great sense of humour with me and I’m just making sure that she’s protected and got the right people around her.

‘Both Meghan and I had tea with her, so it was really nice to catch up with her.’ 

Royal author Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, told Sky News today: ‘He’s brilliant when he talks about the Invictus Games but he seems to get a little distracted when he talks about anything personal.

‘And I think it was a very odd thing for him to say that he wanted to make sure that the Queen was protected and had the right people around her. I mean, what does he know about it, he hasn’t been around? I think that it’s very odd. 

‘And then he sort of warms up – Harry seems to blow hot and cold when he’s giving an interview and he becomes very enthusiastic talking about what he’s doing, and he’s very enthusiastic talking about his own family, and clearly he’s not in a hurry to come back to his homeland.

‘He’s very, very happy in America, he’s obviously very happy with what he’s doing and with his little family and sort of super protective.’

It comes after he and Meghan skipped Prince Philip’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey last month over ‘security concerns’ and after the couple made a string of damaging claims, including of racism, against the Royal Family in their Oprah sit-down.

Harry has made just a handful of visits to the UK since the couple relocated to California in the wake of Megxit but he chose not to attend Prince Philip’s memorial service, which took place last month – just over two weeks before the Sussexes made their trip to see the Queen. 

His decision to skip the emotional event was met with severe criticism from royal insiders, with Prince Philip’s former protection officer describing Harry’s absence as ‘pathetic’.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remained at their mansion in Montecito while the rest of the royal family, including the Queen despite recent health issues, gathered in London for the poignant event.

Harry’s absence at the event came amid an ongoing battle about his security; he is currently pursuing a legal challenge against the Home Office in the UK.

It came after being told he would no longer be given the ‘same degree’ of personal protective security when visiting from the US, despite offering to pay for it himself.

It is unclear exactly what agreement was reached with regards to security before Meghan and Harry returned to the UK last week.

However, reports about their meeting with the Queen suggest that the couple is open to attending the Monarch’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.

Insiders claim that they have been invited to appear at several family events during the multi-day event.

The spots are said to include the traditional balcony appearance and a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s to celebrate the monarch’s 70 years on the throne.   

‘She’s done her bit with my brother and now she’s helping ME’: Harry says Princess Diana ‘got William set up’ and is now ‘watching over my family’ 

BY STEPHEN WYNN-DAVIES FOR MAILONLINE

Prince Harry said his mother has done her bit to get his brother William set up and is now ‘helping my family’.

In his latest interview on US television, the Duke of Sussex told NBC’s Today that he feels Princess Diana‘s ‘presence in almost everything that I do now’ and that he talks to his son Archie about her and there are photos of her in their home.  

Harry said he has felt his mother’s presence more so in that last two years than ever before – approximately the same length of time since he and Meghan Markle stepped back from Royal duties in January 2020. 

He said: ‘It’s almost as though she’s done her bit with my brother and now she’s very much helping me. She’s got him set up and now she’s helping me set up – that’s what it feels like. He’s got his kids, I’ve got my kids.

‘The circumstances are obviously different but I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now. But definitely more so in the last two years than ever before, without a question. She’s watching over us.’

When asked whether he has told his son Archie about Princess Diana, he said he has not told him ‘all the stuff that happened but certainly that “this is grandma Diana”.’ 

He also said he and Meghan Markle have a couple of photos of her up in the house and that he was ‘sure’ Princess Diana would be proud of him.

Royal author Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, told Sky News that Harry talking about Princess Diana shows he is ‘probably still grieving for his mother’.

She added: ‘Because people do that – and I studied this a bit when I wrote about William and Harry – in order to keep the presence of the person that’s passed away, is to keep them alive by doing things that they did and wanting their approval. So Harry does sound like he’s in a different sphere somehow.’ 

During the interview, Prince Harry refused to say whether he misses his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William amid their ongoing feud – but insisted that he talks with the Queen ‘about things she can’t talk about with anybody else’.

The Duke of Sussex also placed doubt over whether he would attend his grandmother’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London in June amid the ongoing security row with the Home Office, adding: ‘Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it’s in the States. And it feels that way as well.’

And Harry spoke about his mantra of ‘trying to make the world a better place for my kids’ while also explaining his concerns that he could face ‘burnout’ while working from home at his £11million mansion in Montecito, California.

In addition, he praised the Queen’s ‘sense of humour’ and spoke of their ‘really special relationship’ following their surprise meeting at Windsor Castle last Thursday where he had tea with her and his wife Meghan Markle.

Asked what is the best thing about the Queen, he said: ‘Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can’t talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think… after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.’

And asked about the Jubilee celebrations, he said: ‘I don’t know yet. There’s lots of things with security issues and everything else. This is what I’m trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.’

But when questioned over whether he misses Charles and William, the Duke was keen to swerve the subject, telling presenter Hoda Kotb: ‘For me at the moment, I’m here focused on these guys [Invictus athletes] and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That’s my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.’

The couple moved to the Montecito area of Santa Barbara in California following their decision to step down as senior royals in early 2020, saying they wanted a new life of personal and financial freedom.