In an emotional personal essay, Prince Harry has opened up about what the UK means to him and let slip what he misses the most, according to an expert
Prince Harry’s poignant personal essay has thrown his real feelings about the UK into sharp relief, according to an expert. The Duke of Sussex left his home country five years ago, moving across the Atlantic to build a new life with his wife Meghan. But now Harry has made it painfully clear that there are aspects of the UK he still misses – includng memories he once shared with his estranged brother Prince William.
The Duke of Sussex penned the passionate essay ahead of Remembrance Day, where he expressed his pride at fighting for his country and warned how easy it is for veterans to be forgotten “once the uniform comes off”. Former soldier Harry undertook two frontline tours to Afghanistan and also describes the privilege of serving alongside men and women from all four corners of the UK. He calls on people to remember “not only the fallen, but the living” who carry the “weight of war” and urges them to knock on veterans’ doors and “join them for a cuppa…or a pint” to hear their stories and “remind them their service still matters”.
The candid essay is titled, “The Bond, The Banter, The Bravery: What it means to be British”, and in a particularly emotional passage, Harry opened up about his deeply held affection for his home country. “Though currently, I may live in the United States, Britain is, and always will be, the country I proudly served and fought for. The banter of the mess, the clubhouse, the pub, the stands – ridiculous as it sounds, these are the things that make us British. I make no apology for it. I love it,” he wrote.
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And now communications expert Judi James has told The Mirror that she believes Harry “subconsciously” let slip more about his feelings towards his home country and his estranged relatives than he might have realised.
“Despite his normally constant adherence to his love of his life in the US, Harry sounds like a man still yearning for what he calls the ‘Banter of the mess, clubhouse, pubs, the stands,'” Judi explained. “Harry was a man who grew up and cut his teeth on banter, especially with his brother William.
“Interviews back in the day show their banter together was relentless and there is a suggestion that in promoting the word so strongly and emphatically here Harry is implying (perhaps subconsciously) how much he misses his older brother. Montecito always looks like a banter-free zone, which is why we tend to see Harry so much in his element during Invictus when he has an endless supply of ex-military heroes to exchange banter with.”
The communications expert continued: “He sounds embarrassed by this ‘reveal’ though. By adding ‘ridiculous as it sounds’, he seems to be apologising to his US audience, perhaps even to his own family, for this admission of nostalgia and what sounds like a sense of longing.
“This is an important-sounding admission too. Most ex-pats yearn for jars of Marmite or English tea bags, but Harry is letting everyone know, including Meghan here, that he’s missing a kind of shared, intense, complex humour that he might not be able to get in the US.”
This isn’t the first time since moving to the US that Harry has made it known what high esteem he holds a good sense of humour, and how tied that is to his sense of his own family. When his grandfather Prince Philip died in 2021, he dubbed him a “legend of banter” in a sweet personal tribute.
Harry said that Philip “was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm – and also because you never knew what he might say next.
“He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the monarch, a decorated serviceman, a prince and a duke. But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right ’til the end.”
Harry concluded his personal essay to the military by encouraging people to extend their hands in support to veterans in their neighbourhoods and communities – and to try and remember to do throughout the entire year. “Remembrance isn’t confined to one weekend in November,” Harry wrote.
“It’s a lifelong commitment to empathy, gratitude, and action; to be kinder, more united, and braver in protecting what those before us fought to preserve. So, as we bow our heads this weekend, let us remember not only the fallen, but the living – those who still carry the weight of war in body and mind, and the families who bear its memory in their hearts.
“If you live near them, knock on their door. If you see them around, shake their hand. And if you feel so inclined, join them for a cuppa…or a pint, to hear their story and remind them their service still matters.”
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