Surprise appearance on Car SOS highlights Harry continuing his values despite eschewing of royal life

It would be more than fair to say that fatigue has yet to set in regarding Harry and Megan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, despite what South Park creators may think. This week, Harry was spotted on an episode of National Geographic/Channel 4 restoration show, Car SOS, once again showing his compassionate side - sending a personal message to a disabled veteran Former Lance Corporal Stephan Van Niekerk and calling him “the definition of inspiration.”

Yet for every altruistic moment that Harry and Meghan present to the public, something else comes along to muddy the goodwill; this week, the public were informed about a satirical book based on Harry’s memoirs entitled Spare Us, while reports have now emerged that Prince William and Princess Catherine are not sharing as much information with the pair in the event said information is “sold” to newspapers.

Should we draw parallels between Harry and his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, regarding the media scrutiny he has received after stepping away from royal duties? In many ways, yes we should - but for wholly different reasons that some would suggest. Much like his mother, despite withdrawing from royal life (somewhat), his kind hearted nature and earnest attitude having matured as the “wild child” prince continue despite being stripped of royal patronages.

Which, as documented, very much hurt Harry; he was stripped of his roles as Captain General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Force Commandant of the Royal Air Force Base Honington, and Honorary Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Naval Commands' Small Ships and Diving. His military family, as he has referred to them before, has been something he has held close to his heart, with a statement shortly after the stripping reading that the pair “offered their continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role.”

It is that final line that should be focused on a little more in retrospect. Despite being stripped of those titles, Harry still seems to hold no bitterness towards the army, and as evidence by an upcoming Netflix documentary, Heart of Invictus, it wasn’t that fact that he was a Prince that brought attention the Invictus games - it was his dedication to the armed forces and those injured in duty that drew widespread support for him and the games. 

Perhaps his love of the army helped strengthen his beliefs; despite all the tabloid tatter about drug use, his sex life and everything else he was happy to share in his memoir, should we more be celebrating Harry, under intense scrutiny from the media and, allegedly, family members, sticking to his own personal beliefs and continuing his philanthropic efforts? Much like, dare we say it, Princess Diana after her divorce to Kings Charles III?

Royal life did not define the support that Diana lent her name to - it merely helped. Invictus, even if Harry wasn’t a member of the royal family and instead a multi-million pound philanthropist, would still be Invictus Games, and the comradeship that Harry both found and exuded to the many military veterans that he has come into contact with. Did being a Prince have anything to do with fostering a kinship with his fellow veterans? Maybe - but while serving his tours in Afghanistan, a Prince or a millionaire are one in the same when hunkered down under fire.

His memoir, Spare, has been a continual bestseller and the choice cuts from the book splashed over the tabloids; yet his royalties earned from the book for the most part are set to be donated to two charities he has already invested his personal wealth in; WellChild and Sentebale.

Sentebale, founded by Harry and the Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, started by helping meet the basic needs of children and young people but, over time, began to address the root causes of poverty and inequality. There has been a strong focus on HIV/AIDS – especially through psycho-social support, outreach work into communities and our purpose-built centre where children living with HIV can attend week long camps and receive in-depth support.

To this day, Harry is still involved with Sentebale, despite not being able to bestow royal patronage with the organisation as part of his seceding from royal life. But yet, much like with the Invictus Games, he still has thrown his support to this cause - and his money, and his constant recognition that, good or bad in the media, is still recognition that attracts views and therefore attention to his efforts. 

In his highly discussed appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, when asked by the host to describe the rest of his life in five words, Harry responded with “freedom, happiness, clarity, space, love.” Evidently, despite what some annals of the media would have you think, these are values that were instilled by a mother who wanted nothing more than her children to have a “normal life” in abnormal circumstances. 

These are sentiments that Harry continues to draw from - be it the work he and Meghan undertake with Archewell, or the fact that even ahead of their wedding that they asked the public to mark the occasion with donations to a number of charities that they had no personal affiliation with. Some ardent anti-Meghan fans will claim that this whole royal saga is because Harry has become “woke.” We beg to differ - when you have a mother with compassion towards other people in other walks of life like Diana, you were awake all along (stupid part costume aside - but we’ve all been young and dumb before.)