Prince Harry Had a 3-Word Response When a Palace Staffer Once Called Him By the Wrong Name
Prince Harry might no longer be a member of the royal family, but he certainly knows what it’s like to interact with Palace staff members. Harry was in the royal spotlight for much of his life and spent years as a working royal after his schooling and military service.
The prince likely had his share of awkward run-ins, but he managed to have a perfectly chill response when a staffer accidentally called him by a nickname that was not allowed in the royal family.
Prince Harry’s 3-word response when a staff member called him ‘mate’
Harry often communicated with his staff members via text message or email while working in the royal family. Of course, there were a number of people working under the prince — and a number of rules those people had to follow. One time, though, a staffer must have forgotten to whom he was speaking, and he accidentally referred to Harry as “mate” instead of “sir” or “Your Royal Highness.” Royal expert Valentine Low revealed in a new book (via Express) that former royal press secretary Ed Perkins once accidentally got too comfortable with Harry in a text message and wrote, “Hello, mate.”
Perkins said he acted quickly to diffuse the situation. “I texted back saying, ‘So sorry, just called you mate. I didn’t mean to.’ [Harry] wrote back saying, ‘Please don’t worry,’” the book said of Perkins’ experience. It’s unclear what Harry said after that, but his three-word, calm response suggests he didn’t care and understood that everyone makes a slip-up every once in a while.
The royals are humans, too, and while they live a far different life than commoners, they also understand that mistakes happen. Harry’s response suggested he was a rather understanding person who didn’t think much of someone calling him such a casual name.
Prince Harry has shed much of his royal personality
Growing up, Harry played by far different rules than other people. However, when he left the royal family, he lost most of his titles, including his HRH title (His Royal Highness). At his point, nobody is required to refer to him as such, and he seems alright with that. Upon leaving the royal family, the duke even encouraged people to call him “Harry” rather than “Prince Harry.” While that might be the case when he introduces himself, media outlets and formal publications still refer to Harry as a prince; Harry and Meghan are still referred as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex because they technically retained those titles as well.
Harry has done his best to seem like a laid-back member of the royal family, especially since moving to the United States. It was even revealed several years ago that Harry actually enjoys doing his own grocery shopping because he created a sense of normalcy. Who knows; perhaps the prince would have even preferred that people call him “mate” rather than “sir.” These days, Harry can go by whatever casual nickname he wants. Even Meghan doesn’t call him Harry, but rather prefers the endearing nickname “H.”
