Prince Harry hits back at ‘not a working royal’ label, says he will always be part of the family

KYIV, UKRAINE: Prince Harry has learned how to protect his privacy while still taking responsibility for his public role, even without holding an official royal position.

The author of 'Spare' pushed back during an ITV interview on Friday, April 24, when ITV reporter Chris Ship referred to him as “not a working royal.” He responded firmly, saying he does not agree with that label and added, "I will always be part of the royal family."

For those who may not know, it has been six years since Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped away from their royal duties. Even so, the Duke of Sussex continues to address questions about his status.

The comments came during an unannounced visit to Ukraine, his third since the war began in 2022. The trip followed a recent visit to Australia with his wife. He briefly stopped in the UK en route to Ukraine, but did not carry out any official engagements.

Prince Harry speaks his mind during Ukraine visit

While visiting The HALO Trust, a charity closely linked to his mother, Princess Diana, he explained that his visit was part of meaningful work. He said he was there “working and doing the very thing that I was born to do.”

The Duke of Sussex shared how much he values his humanitarian efforts. “I enjoy doing it,” he said. He also added, “I enjoy being able to do these trips and come and support the people that I’ve met before, the friends that I’ve made,” and explained that he wants to highlight “to issues that, you know, for one reason or another, drop out of the news because something else has popped up.”

During the interview, Prince Harry emphasized the importance of speaking openly. He said, “We need to feel empowered to speak truth to power”, adding, “What would worry me is if we live in a world where anyone in my position can’t speak about the very things and the realities we are seeing, and hold those in leadership positions accountable.”

It has been six years since “Megxit,” when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left their frontline royal duties, and he said he is now “working and doing the very thing I was born to do.”

Prince Harry dismisses impact on state visit, warns of Global anxiety

Speaking as a father, the Duke of Sussex described growing global anxiety about ongoing conflicts. He said, "I think everybody's scared, everybody's worried for what is potentially around the corner."

He added, "The vast majority of the global population want to see an end to these conflicts. The future does look bleak, but I think that hopefully, with the way that the world is reacting to the conflicts that are happening, we can see an end to these sooner rather than later."

He also spoke about the challenges of speaking freely today. “It's bad enough in today's world, feeling gagged and saying that you can't say these things, and can't say that. Everything becomes political. I fundamentally disagree with that. What we are seeing is a humanitarian catastrophe in multiple parts of the world... and I would encourage more people to do the speaking up.”