Prince Harry Had High Tea With James Corden – And These Are The Secrets He Didn’t Tell Oprah

When Harry joined Corden on a passenger tour vehicle, he revealed something that to most people might seem quite surprising. Turned out, it was the first time he’d ever been on an open-top bus, because usually he “wasn’t really allowed.” He remembered, “When I was in London I would see them cruising around with tourists. I was like: You know, that would be really good fun.”

Are members of the royal family really not allowed to ride in open-top buses? ‘Fraid so. Those tasked with protecting them regard it as just too big a risk for people who tend to receive a lot of death threats. It’s not just the royals, American presidents stopped driving in open-top cars after the Kennedy assassination in 1963.

While riding around Los Angeles, Corden asked Harry, “So when did you know that Meghan was the one?” No later than the second date, it turned out. Harry said, “It wasn’t so much where we went, it was just the way that we hit it off with each other and we were so comfortable in each other’s company.”

According to the 2020 book Finding Freedom by Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, Harry and Meghan had both their first and second dates at The Dean Street Townhouse in Soho. And things moved just as fast as Harry remembered. After only three months of dating they’d exchanged their first declarations of love.

During their day out Corden took Harry to see the famous house from cult TV show and Will Smith vehicle The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, quipping, “It’s good enough for the Fresh Prince, it’s good enough for the real prince.” While approaching the place Corden asked Harry if he knew the theme song from the show. Not only did he know it, he could rap it.

Granted, Harry stumbled over a few of the words, but still! It was a good try and people who watched the interview seriously approved. One comment underneath the video clip of it on YouTube read, “The fact that Harry knows The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song makes me like him even more.”

Of course Meghan would be part of the interview too, even though she was miles away. At one point Corden Facetimed her in front of the cameras. She asked her husband, “How’s the tour going, Haz?” and revealed her pet name for the guy whose full title was once in fact His Royal Highness Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex.

Needless to say Corden took full advantage of this. He joked, “Haz? I didn’t know we were calling you Haz now.” Harry quipped back, “You’re not my wife,” before adding in an aside to Meghan, “He’s the worst tour guide in L.A.” Honestly, the whole interview was worth it just to see the Corden-Harry bromance.

Does Prince Harry fit the British royal stereotype of being a tea drinker, you might have wondered more than once. And the answer is yes, yes he does. On board the tour bus Corden offered him some refreshments of “the sort you would expect” and Harry happily accepted a sugar and “a splash” of milk in his tea.

Of course, such traditional British niceness couldn’t proceed without something funny happening. As soon as the tour bus swerved the drinks predictably went everywhere, which was enough to make the Duke of Sussex let out a swear word. Gasp! Corden took it more in his stride and jokingly demanded, “Clean it up, Harry.”

Corden was curious about how much of Los Angeles the prince had actually seen. He asked him, “Have you spent much time over in this part of L.A. that we are in now, since you moved here?” Harry answered, “No, it’s been [in] lockdown. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to see L.A.”

Harry did also point out, though, “When you live in an area, you never actually go sightseeing. I’ve always wanted to go sightseeing.” Still, seeing as how his family literally own many of the biggest tourist attractions in London, including Buckingham Palace and half of Regent Street, we can probably assume he doesn’t really need to hit the tourist trail over there.

When The Crown debuted its fourth season a storm of controversy came with it. It detailed Prince Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles and according to royal insiders many in the royal family were furious about it. Except for Harry, it turned out, even though his own parents were depicted in a not-so-flattering light.

Harry told Corden, “I am way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family or my wife or myself. It’s the difference between – that is obviously fiction, take it how you will, but this is being reported as fact because you are supposedly news. I have a real issue with that.” His problems with the British tabloids run deep.

Gone are the days when Harry was known to all as the Party Prince. He lives a much quieter, far more down-to-earth lifestyle these days. Instead of playing drunken strip billiards in Las Vegas – yes, that really happened back in 2012 – he parents his child and relaxes with his wife.

Asked by Corden what a typical night in was like for him, Harry answered that “depending on how the day has been, how busy it has been” his normal routine was to feed and bathe Archie, read him a bedtime story, then sit in bed with Meghan and watch Jeopardy! or “a little bit of Netflix.”

One of the oddest, most amusing revelations in the interview was about the sort of gifts the Queen gives to her great-grandkids. Harry told Corden that when the Queen asked what Archie would like for Christmas, Meghan asked if he could have a waffle-maker. So the monarch of the United Kingdom simply sent one over.

Archie loved the waffle-maker so much, Harry said, that he “literally wakes up in the morning and says ‘waffle.’” And Harry himself loved it as well. He said, “Now, I have waffles for breakfast, bit of yogurt, bit of jam on top... I don’t know if that's the right thing to do... bit of berries maybe. Little bit of honey, maybe some syrup.” The Queen is very good in the present department, then.

When Harry talked about how he fell in love with Meghan, he also wound up talking about royal romances in general. He mused, “Dating with me — with any member of the royal family, I guess — is kind of flipped upside-down.” And no, that wasn’t him getting the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air song lyrics wrong again.

Harry said, “All the dates become dinners or watching the TV or chatting at home, and then eventually once you become a couple, then you venture out to dinners, to the cinema and everything else. So everything was back-to-front with us.” But it worked out well, he said, because there were “no distractions.”

While enthusiastically discussing the waffle-maker, Harry said, “Meg makes up a beautiful organic mix.” Yep, he calls Meghan “Meg,” and did so throughout the whole interview. Awww. Also Meghan is in Harry’s phone under M, as Corden found out when he decided to call her up outside the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air house.

Just like Harry, Meghan was born with a name different to the one she actually uses. Her full name actually is – wait for it – Rachel Meghan Markle. Yep, the same as her character in Suits! But not even her husband calls her Rachel. In fact, she even used her middle name and not Rachel when the happy couple exchanged their wedding vows.

Sorry, Harry. And sorry to all the fans who loved his bright ginger hair. The duke didn’t mention this in the interview, but whenever he had his back to the camera a big bald spot could be clearly seen. Seeing as how Prince William went bald when he was only in his 20s, clearly it must run in the family.

Still, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In 2021 Prince William was very controversially named the world’s sexiest bald man by a Turkish cosmetic surgery company, leaving fans of Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson and the like absolutely fuming. Will Harry make the list in a few years maybe?

As you probably know, Harry was in the British Army for a while: ten years to be exact. He’s not a soldier any more, but turns out he’s still as fit as the average military man. After the tour bus and the Fresh Prince house Corden took Harry to a Spartan Race Obstacle Course, and Harry nailed every exercise.

While Corden amusingly floundered, Harry climbed up ropes, through mud and also into the hearts of many thirsty royal-watchers. That one particular part of the interview definitely got people sitting up and paying attention. One of the more repeatable tweets read, “James Corden just reminded me how hot Prince Harry is.”

Upon pulling up in his tour bus Corden yelled out to Harry, “Just pay the fare and hop on up, okay?” Harry called back, “You know us royals, we don’t carry cash.” Was he joking? It was obviously a reference to the oft-mooted legend which maintains that the royal family never have need of actual currency.

But that “rule” has never been entirely accurate, and Harry certainly must know that. Despite the Queen not technically needing to spend money on anything, she does actually carry money with her to church on Sundays so she can donate to the collection basket. And since Harry is a non-working royal now, he may very well keep cash on him.

Because of the ongoing lockdown, Harry was wearing a face mask throughout much of his interview with Corden. And that wasn’t all that demonstrated his thoughtful personality. When stopping at the Fresh Prince house he needed the bathroom, so he asked the homeowner if he could use hers. He’d had a test and therefore could go inside people’s houses during lockdown, he said.

Upon leaving the house Harry thanked the homeowners, too. And another little show of royal niceness came later on – when Harry and Corden ran the military obstacle course, Harry didn’t show off by running ahead of his buddy but instead waited and even cheered him on. Fans absolutely loved it.

One interesting tidbit Harry shared was that yes, even though he stepped down from the family he’s still very much in touch with his grandparents. In fact they have conversations over Zoom. When Corden asked if the Queen knew how to use it, Harry gave the maybe slightly surprising answer, “Yes. Both my grandparents do.”

Harry went on, “We’ve Zoomed them a few times, they’ve seen Archie running around. My grandfather, instead of, like, pressing ‘leave meeting’, he just goes –” He mimed someone slamming down a laptop and said, “I’m like, okay, bye!” Anyone who’s Zoomed with their own grandparents might well find that relatable.

It’s not just The Crown, multiple fictional takes of the lives of the royals have been made over the years. Eventually, Harry will probably get the big-budget treatment too. So who would he like to play him? He told Corden he wanted the red-headed actor Damian Lewis… though he did get his name wrong at first and say “Daniel Lewis.”

And Prince Charles actor Josh O’Connor is up for that. He told the website ET Online, “I’m delighted that [Harry] watches [The Crown]… I love Damian Lewis, he’s great! I think the great thing about The Crown is we put together great casts.” Who knows, maybe one day it might happen...

Naturally Corden pressed Harry to reveal more about his reasons for stepping down as a royal. He asked, “It’s such a monumental decision to have walked away from the royal family. Why did you think that was necessary and the right thing to do for you and your family?” Harry’s answer involved the British media.

The duke said, “It was never walking away. It was stepping back rather than stepping down.” He went on, “We all know what the British press can be like. It was destroying my mental health. I was like, ‘This is toxic.’” Harry’s made it very clear in the past that he hates the media’s intrusion into his private life.

In one particularly delightful segment of the interview Harry revealed to Corden what little Archie’s first word had been. The very proud dad told the interviewer, “His first word was ‘crocodile,’ three syllables.” Corden was clearly impressed too, saying ““Crocodile? That’s a big word.” Archie’s clearly turning into a super-smart kid.

Harry raved to Corden, “My son is just over a year-and-a-half. He is hysterical. He’s got the most amazing personality. He’s already putting three or four words together. He’s already singing songs.” And before too long he’ll have a sister, since Harry and Meghan are expecting a baby girl!

Harry may have stepped down as a working member of the royal family but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to help people who need it. He told Corden, “My life is always going to be about public service. Meghan signed up for that. And the two of us enjoy doing that.”

Now, Harry told Corden, he has plans to do “a continuation of what we were doing back in the U.K. anyway... trying to bring some compassion and, you know, trying to make people happy and try to change the world in any small way that we can.” So right now it seems his future’s looking pretty bright.