James Corden and Prince Harry on a double decker open-air bus in Los Angeles (photo: Youtube)
Cover James Corden and Prince Harry on a double decker open-air bus in Los Angeles (photo: Youtube)

What is Meghan Markle's nickname for Prince Harry and what did the Queen gift Archie for Christmas? James Corden hosted the expatriate prince in a non-Carpool Karaoke video special. Here are some things we learned from Prince Harry's first solo interview on American soil

As the world waits with bated breath for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, British comedian James Corden decided to drop his own solo interview with the Duke of Sussex on Friday. 

The appearance kicked off a monthlong media blitz, making it the first solo and televised interview given by the Prince since moving to the US—and there's so much to unpack in the 17-minute long video. It was comical, heartwarming and eye-opening all at once. 

Prince Harry joined the talk show host on an open-top double-decker bus for a non-Carpool Karaoke tour around Los Angeles with a few special pit stops in between—first in Brentwood at the iconic Fresh Prince of Bel Air mansion and later at a military-inspired obstacle course where Harry got to demonstrate some of the skills he honed while in the army.

Last week, Buckingham Palace announced that the the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be returning to working royal life; later, it was revealed that the duo and will have a sitdown, no-holds-barred 90-minute interview special with Oprah Winfrey (airing on American network CBS on March 7). They had recently announced that they are expecting their second child. The couple moved from the UK to Vancouver and, later, to Santa Barbara in early 2020, right as the country began lockdown in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. They have since signed deals with Netflix and Spotify rumoured to be valued around US$100 million and US$30 million, respectively.

Here are 16 things we learned from Prince Harry's interview with James Corden:

1. Prince Harry has never been on an open-top, double-decker tour bus

"This is the first time I've been on an open-top bus," Prince Harry tells James Corden, after the duo board the Big Bus Tours bus in Los Angeles.

"Not really allowed to. When I was in London I would see them cruising around with tourists. I was like: You know, that would be really good fun. When you live in an area, you never actually go sightseeing. I've always wanted to go sightseeing."

In fact, this jaunt around Los Angeles is Prince Harry's first chance to see the city since moving there right before the US-Canadian border shut down in early 2020. 

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James Corden and Prince Harry visit the house from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air (photo: YouTube)
Above James Corden and Prince Harry visit the house from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air (photo: YouTube)

2. Prince Harry takes his tea with milk and sugar

Corden has a tea trolley wheeled down the bus aisle. On it: tea cakes and scones, and a silver teapot. When Corden offers Harry tea with milk and sugar, Harry takes all the accoutrements. 

3. 'English Tea on the 405' could become a Netflix series (just kidding)

While sipping tea on the top of a double-decker bus driving down Los Angeles' iconic (infamous? notorious?) Interstate 405, Prince Harry jokes with James: "James, you've got Carpool Karaoke, maybe I could do English Tea on the 405."

To which Corden replies: "English Tea on the 405, why not. Get it on Netflix, an absolute winner," alluding to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Netflix deal.

"That'd be cool, that's an idea," Harry says. 

 

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James Corden and Prince Harry visit the house from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air (photo: YouTube)
Above James Corden and Prince Harry visit the house from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air (photo: YouTube)

4. Prince Harry knows all the words to the 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' song

The duo's first stop on their tour of Los Angeles is in Brentwood, at the house that played the Banks' home in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, where Corden tries to convince Harry to buy the mansion so he can be a real prince living in the Fresh Prince's house but Harry is mostly interested in using the bathroom.

"I didn't expect that," Corden says. "I didn't expect a toilet break from the prince."

Corden calls Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, on Facetime, to ask her to buy the house.

"I think we've done enough moving," Markle says.

5. Meghan Markle makes a special appearance on Facetime, revealing Prince Harry's nickname is "Haz"

When Corden Facetimes Markle, she asks: "How's the tour going, Haz?"

"Haz?" Corden says. "I didn't know we were calling you Haz now."

"You're not my wife," Harry retorts. "He's the worst tour guide in LA," he tells Markle.

6. When Prince Harry knew Meghan was The One

Prince Harry says he knew by their second date that Markle was The One.

"The second date I was starting to think, wow this was pretty special. It wasn't so much where we went, it was just, the fact, the way we hit it off with each other and we were just so comfortable in each others' company," Harry says.

"Dating with me, or with any member of the royal family, I guess, is kind of flipped upside down. All the dates become dinner or watching 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 done back to front with us. So actually we got to spend an enormous amount of time, just the two of us, rather than going to friends' houses or out for dinner where there were other distractions. We went from zero to 60 in the first two months."

(Related: This Is The Romantic Place Where Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Fell In Love)

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James Corden and Prince Harry visit the house from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air (photo: YouTube)
Above James Corden and Prince Harry visit the house from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air (photo: YouTube)

7. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's nighttime routine

Prince Harry talked through a normal night at home: "We do Archie's tea, give him a bath, read him a book, put him down. Go downstairs. Meg might cook a meal, might order a takeaway, go upstairs, sit in bed, turn the TV on, watch some Jeopardy, maybe watch a little bit of Netflix."

8. Prince Harry doesn't mind the show 'The Crown'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have long been embroiled in a difficult relationship with the press, and Harry brings that up when asked his opinion on The Crown.

"They don't pretend to be news," he says. "It's fictional, but it's loosely based on the truth. Of course it's not strictly accurate, but loosely it gives you an idea about that lifestyle, what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that. I'm way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife, or myself."

(Related: The Crown on Netflix: Princess Diana Makes Her Highly-Anticipated Debut)

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Prince Harry wants Damian Lewis to play him in 'The Crown' (photo: Getty Images)
Above Prince Harry wants Damian Lewis to play him in 'The Crown' (photo: Getty Images)

9. Prince Harry wants Damian Lewis to play him in 'The Crown'

That's right, not only is Prince Harry perfectly aware of the Golden Globe-winning series, he already has someone in mind whom he wants to play him in the drama: Damian Lewis. Perhaps the fact that the English actor is also a redhead like the Prince himself. 

Corden added: "I think Damian Lewis as you and me as William—that's casting."

Prince Harry hilariously replied: "It's not great casting but it is casting."

10. Archie's first word

Prince Harry's face lights up when Corden asks him how he's finding fatherhood. Harry reveals that Archie's first word was crocodile. 

"He is hysterical. He's got the most amazing personality. He's already putting three, four words together and already singing songs," the proud father shared. 

He also said Archie asks for waffles in the mornings, but more on that below.

11. What did the Queen give Archie for Christmas?

Prince Harry revealed that Queen Elizabeth had asked them what Archie would like for Christmas, and Markle had told her: a waffle maker.

That's right, the Queen of England sent Archie a waffle maker for Christmas, shipped all the way from the UK.

Prince Harry went on to describe how his wife would make organic waffles in the morning and he'd enjoy some himself, with "a bit of yogurt and a bit of jam on top".

But Corden interrupted him to say: "Sorry you're glossing over the fact that I cannot for the life of me imagine the Queen ordering a waffle maker to be sent to Santa Barbara. I can't get my head around that."

To that, the Duke of Sussex paused and laughed before saying: "I don't even know how to comment on that."

12. The Queen and Prince Phillip know how to use Zoom

Corden also asked if the Prince's family communicates with the Queen via Zoom often, and whether the British monarch is familiar with using the video conferencing programme. 

In short, yes the Queen is capable of using the software.

"Both my grandparents do," Prince Harry shared. "We've Zoomed them a few times and they've seen Archie running around."

He also made fun of the fact that his grandfather, Prince Phillip, doesn't really know how to leave a meeting on Zoom and just slams the laptop shut after saying goodbye. 

13. Prince Harry left life as a working royal because of mental health

"It was never walking away," Harry tells Corden. "It was stepping back rather than stepping down. It was really difficult environment, as a lot of people say. We all know what the British press can be like and it was destroying my mental health. It was toxic. So I did what any husband and any father would do. I needed to get my family out of here. But we never walked away."

14. Prince Harry is quite the athlete

In the final segment of the talkshow, they go through a military-style obstacle course and Prince Harry certainly wows viewers with his athletic prowess. It shouldn't come as a surprise since he actually served in the military—but watching him in action was eye-opening indeed. 

While Corden was complaining the entire time, the Prince went through each course without breaking a sweat and was all smiles throughout. 

In fact, Corden asked Prince Harry why he didn't get any mud on him after going through an actual muddy course on all fours.

Prince Harry replied nonchalantly: "Because I did it properly."

15. Prince Harry clarifies that he never walked away from royal life

Here is the question on everyone's minds.

Corden told Prince Harry that it must be "such a momumental decision" to have walked away from the royal family and went on to ask the reason behind it. 

"It was never walking away. It was stepping back rather than stepping down. It was a difficult environment as i think a lot of people saw, we all know how the British press was like."

"But we never walked away. As far as I'm concerned, whatever decisions are made on that side, I will never walk away. I will always be contributing, because my life is public service. Wherever I am in the world, it's going to be the same thing." 

16. What is Prince Harry looking forward to once lockdown is over?

Although he has relocated to Los Angeles, the Prince believes that his life is always about public service so he wants to continue doing the same in the US, as what he did in the UK. 

"A slightly different version but a continuation of what we were doing in the UK. That's what my life is about. And Meghan signed up to that, the two of us enjoy doing that. [We're] trying to bring some compassion and make people happy and try to change the world in any small way we can," Prince Harry said. 

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