As anticipation for the royal wedding hits a fever pitch, biographers are taking advantage of the growing excitement by releasing new books in the weeks leading up to the big day.
One of those books, titled 鈥淗arry: A Biography of a Prince,鈥� by Angela Levin details the popular red-haired prince鈥檚 journey from a reckless troublemaker to a beloved philanthropist. The veteran journalist had exclusive access to Prince Harry and was able to sit down with him for a one-on-one interview for the biography.
Levin told 麻豆影视 Channel that she was surprised by the royal鈥檚 openness during their chat.
鈥淪uddenly in the middle of a conversation he stopped, and I hadn鈥檛 asked anything about his late mother, and he said how terrible he thought it had been that he had to walk behind his mother鈥檚 coffin,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淭hat nobody would do that to children now and he thought it was completely wrong.鈥�
The prince shared with Levin how he struggled to come to terms with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales when he was only 12 years old.
鈥淗e told me he would bury his head in the sand. He said he refused to let himself think about it,鈥� Levin said. 鈥淚t must have been in the forefront of his mind, waiting to come out for 20 years.鈥�
In addition to his thoughts on his late mother, Prince Harry talked to Levin about the pressures of being a member of the Royal Family.
鈥淗e also said things like, 鈥楴obody really wants to be king or queen鈥� and that was a reference to the fact that they want a private life. He and [Prince] William want to have privacy. They want to do their duty but they also want privacy,鈥� she said.
Levin鈥檚 biography details the prince鈥檚 partying past and how he eventually matured into the man he is today.
鈥淗e鈥檚 got the qualities that you can鈥檛 actually learn like being empathetic with people, charismatic, all those sorts of things,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the most extraordinary young man and I think that really surprised me how extraordinary he is.鈥�
A royal romance
Along with writings about Prince Harry himself, the prince鈥檚 relationship with American actor Meghan Markle has also taken centre stage in the weeks before their wedding. The biography 鈥淗arry: Life, Loss, And Love鈥� delves into the whirlwind romance between the pair.
After interviewing nearly 100 people with knowledge of the Royal Family and Prince Harry, author Kate Nicholl wrote about the prince鈥檚 past as well as his present life with Markle in her new book. She told 麻豆影视 Channel that Markle is a real departure for Prince Harry when compared to his former girlfriends Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas.
鈥淲hat she does bring to the table is a wealth of experience. She is older. Some may say she is wiser. Without a doubt she鈥檚 a deft hand with dealing the media. She鈥檚 incredibly confident and poised in front of the cameras,鈥� Nicholl explained on Wednesday. 鈥淚 think the fact that she鈥檚 been able to handle herself so well, that she wasn鈥檛 immediately put off by the spotlight as the other girlfriends had been, was probably a real draw for Prince Harry.鈥�
Although she will be able to enjoy the perks and privileges of royalty, Markle will have to sacrifice a lot in her new role, Nicholl said.
鈥淪he鈥檚 giving up her nationality, her acting career, she鈥檚 giving up a huge amount and that leap into what is often referred to as the gold fish bowl of royalty is a seismic leap. It鈥檚 a huge transition,鈥� she said. 鈥淪he is saying goodbye to an old life.鈥�
As for the wedding itself, Nicholl said this wedding will be different from the Duke of Duchess of Cambridge鈥檚 elaborate affair. Heads of state and foreign royals will be swapped for close friends and family instead.
鈥淭his is a big royal wedding with all of the pomp and pageantry that we would expect of it, but actually, it鈥檚 very much a family wedding,鈥� she said.
