Prince Harry Got Candid About Dealing With the Paparazzi in America
Prince Harry has been living in California for over a year now with his pregnant wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and their son, Archie Harrison. Though the Sussexes took some time to settle into their new lives away from the British royal family, Prince Harry is now opening up more than ever about life as a royal and the toll that it took on his mental health and wellbeing,
The prince has explained that being in the spotlight was a constant reminder of the tragic death of his mother, Princess Diana. Moreover, he’s gotten candid about his rebellious teenage years, which were in direct response to the media attention and frenzy.
Now, Prince Harry is revealing how he’s dealing with the paparazzi in America, which is a machine all on its own.
Prince Harry has wanted to leave the British royal family since he was in his 20s
When Prince Harry and Meghan announced they would be resigning from their roles as senior working members of the British royal family, many people blamed the former actor. However, this has been something that the prince has been considering since his early 20s.
“I was in my early twenties, and I was thinking I don’t want this job, I don’t want to be here,” Prince Harry explained on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast via Daily Mail. “I don’t want to be doing this. Look what it did to my mum. I’ve seen behind the curtain, I’ve seen the business model and seen how this whole thing works and I don’t want to be part of this.”
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Prince Harry says royal life is like ‘The Truman Show’
In fact, following his mother’s death, getting his cell phone hacked by the paparazzi in his early 20s, and having every moment of his life documented and remarked upon, Harry said he felt like he was living the real-life version of The Truman Show.
The Jim Carey film centers on Truman Burbank. a man who discovers his entire life is a TV show.
“For me, prior to meeting Meghan, it was very much a case of, certainly connected to the media, that anger and frustration of ‘this is so unjust.’ By the way, not just about me, but about all this stuff that I was seeing,” Prince Harry said. “A mix between ‘The Truman Show’ and being in a zoo.”
Prince Harry got candid about dealing with the paparazzi in America
When news broke that Meghan and Harry were setting up shop in California, critics scoffed, saying they were simply going to be put in the spotlight in a different county. Now Prince Harry is explaining the differences.
“We spent the first three and a half months living at [friend] Tyler Perry’s house,” he said. “The helicopters, the drones, the paparazzi cutting the fence, like, it was madness. And people out there, their response was ‘what do you expect if you live in LA?’ First of all, we didn’t mean to live in LA. This is a staging area to try and find a house. And secondly, how sad that if you live in LA and you’re a well-known figure, you just have to expect it.”
He explained that things are much better now that he and his family are in Santa Barabara, but he is not pleased about the recent photo of his wife and son.
“Page Six of the New York Post, they took photos of my son being picked up from school on his first day,” he added. “It’s this sort of rabid feeding frenzy… kids don’t get a choice; they don’t get a say in it.”
