Despite the British royal family being a notoriously private bunch o’ buggers, Prince Harry has been recently granting a handful of candid interviews to discuss his princely life, which kicked off last week by admitting to Newsweek that nobody in the family wants to assume the throne as king or queen after Queen Elizabeth dies. That was already considered scandalous enough to warrant a frown or a double dosage of Pimm’s from the general U.K. public, but now, he’s gone one step further in relaying his complex thoughts on the monarchy — mostly that he tried to escape it at one point in his life. “I felt I wanted out but then decided to stay in and work out a role for myself,” he explained to the Mail on Sunday about the “goldfish bowl” Windsor lifestyle. “We don’t want to be just a bunch of celebrities but instead use our role for good.” Queen Elizabeth, he implied, was the one who convinced him to remain in the family.
Harry continued to say that the main breaking point for him occurred in 2008, when the media revealed he was serving with the British Army in Afghanistan. Fearing his safety would be compromised, he was forced to leave and return to the U.K by his commanders. “I felt very resentful. Being in the Army was the best escape I’ve ever had. I felt as though I was really achieving something,” he explained. “I have a deep understanding of all sorts of people from different backgrounds and felt I was part of a team.” But back in the present, Harry only has one thing on his mind: “Modernising the monarchy.” And he seems to be doing that just fine.
