Why Royal Family Used To Worry About Prince Harry

He may be seen as a family man now that he is married to his wife, Meghan and has a brand new son, Archie. However, back when Prince Harry was going on his first solo tour abroad in 2012, his reputation had both members of the royal family and government officials “concerned” and “worried” about what would happen.

According to biographer Duncan Larcombe in his book, “Prince Harry: The Inside Story,” when Harry was asked to tour the Caribbean in early 2012 as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, there was concern and fears he would involuntarily spark “controversy” abroad because of the playboy and party-goer reputations he had earned by then.

“As ever, this tour had been carefully arranged by the palace and the British Foreign Office. Every conversation, handshake and official walkabout would be scrutinized to see if the so-called playboy prince would be able to pull off the serious business of representing his country,” Larcombe wrote. “Behind the scenes, the men in grey suits at the palace were worried about whether Harry would be able to get through his first solo tour without controversy.”

“The prince’s first overseas solo tour would be a watershed moment in his life as a senior member of the royal family,” a senior royal source was quoted as saying the book. “While we were confident that Harry’s charm and natural ability in front of the camera would win over the crowds, there was a real concern about how he would cope with the more sensitive aspects of the tour. Playing the jokes is one thing, but dragging the country into a political or diplomatic dispute because of an off-the-cuff remark or badly timed jokes was a real worry.”

However, the fears proved to be unnecessary, as the source revealed he took the entire situation very seriously and made sure to take every precaution ahead of time.

“Before setting off, Harry was briefed at length by staff from the Foreign Office. He took these sessions very seriously and asked many questions about what possible pitfalls he needed to avoid,” the source said. “He was clearly nervous about making any errors and wanted to know the ins and outs of every part of the visit.”

“Perhaps in that way, therefore, he was even better prepared than other members of his family who have carried out dozens of official overseas tours over the years,” they added. “It was admirable that Harry seemed determined to make the visit work.”