Prince Harry reveals 'I wanted out of Royal family 'job' in my 20s'. Video / Armchair Expert
Prince Harry has given a candid interview on a popular US podcast, where he spilled on his adorable first normal meet-up with Meghan Markle.
The 36-year-old Duke of Sussex featured on Armchair Podcast with Dax Shepard, talking about everything from his own mental health, to wanting to quit the royal family in his 20s and how his life was like the Jim Carrey movie The Truman Show.
But first, Harry talked about how he and Meghan hid their relationship after first meeting in July 2016.
He revealed the pair went incognito at a London supermarket to go grocery shopping the first time the then Toronto-based Meghan stayed with him.
"The first time that Meghan and I met up for her to come and stay with me, we met up in a supermarket in London pretending that we didn't know each other," Harry said.
"So we texted each other from the other side of the aisle, people looking at me and giving me all these weird looks, coming up to say 'hi', whatever.
The couple were married in 2018 before having their first child, Archie, in 2019. Photo / AP
"And I was like, texting. It's like, 'Is this the right one?' She's like, 'No, you want parchment paper.' I'm like, 'Okay, where's the parchment paper?'
"I had a baseball cap on, looking down at the floor, trying to stay incognito. It's amazing how much chewing gum you see, it's a mess!"
It is well reported the 39-year-old Suits actress and Harry were set up on a blind date by mutual friends, and met for the first time at London's Soho House in July 2016.
They fell in love and were married in 2018 before having their first child, Archie, in 2019. The pair are expecting their second child, a daughter, in coming weeks.
Prince Harry appeared on the podcast to promote his new mental health series with Oprah Winfrey, The Me You Can't See, premiering on May 21 on Apple TV+.
The Sussexes at Abel Tasman National Park in October 2018. Photo / Robert Kitchin
In the wide-ranging interview, Shepard asked Harry his opinion on the romanticised idea of marrying a prince that is often portrayed in film and TV.
Harry said Meghan had the "most amazing explanation for this".
"I'm not gonna get this right – but she said 'You don't need to be a princess. You can create a life that will be better than any princess.' And that's coming from her own lived experience.
"We got together and she was like 'Wow, this is very different to what my friends at the beginning said.' "
Despite leaving the royal family last year, Harry said he realised in his 20s he didn't want to be there. He said it was "a mix between The Truman Show and living in a zoo".
"It's the job right? Grin and bear it. Get on with it. I was in my early 20s and I was thinking I don't want this job, I don't want to be here. I don't want to be doing this," he said.
"Look what it did to my mum. How am I ever going to settle down and have a wife and family, when I know it's going to happen again?"
Harry and Meghan's home in Santa Barbara, California. Harry says he feels free since moving to the US and stepping back from royal life. Photo / santabarbarasluxuryhomes.com
He said Meghan encouraged him to go to therapy to work through his mental health issues.
"Once I started doing therapy it was like the bubble was burst. I plucked my head out of the sand and gave it a good shake off and I was like, 'You're in this position of privilege, stop complaining and stop thinking you want something different - make this different.'
" 'How are you going to do these things differently, how are you going to make your mum proud and use this platform to really effect change?' "
Harry added he felt free since moving to California with his family a year ago after stepping back from royal life.
"Here, I can actually lift my head and I feel different. My shoulders have dropped, so has hers [Meghan's]," he said.
"You walk around feeling a little bit more free. I get to take Archie on the back of my bicycle. I never had the chance to do that."
