Who Wants to Be King? Not Us Royals, Says Harry

Prince says he strives for an 'ordinary life'
By Linda Hervieux,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 22, 2017 7:23 AM CDT
Who Wants to Be King? Not Us Royals, Says Harry
Prince Harry attends a function at Admiralty House in Sydney, Australia, earlier this month.   (David Moir/Pool Photo via AP)

"Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so," comes the answer from a person you might not expect: Prince Harry. But in an interview with Newsweek, the 32-year-old assures that "we will carry out our duties at the right time." Prince William's younger brother says the Windsors are attempting to "modernize the British monarchy … not for ourselves but for the greater good of the people." To that end, the Telegraph trumpets Harry's line, "Even if I was king, I would do my own shopping." (He is fifth in line to the throne, after William's kids.) Harry says he attempts to have as ordinary life as possible and adds, "If I am lucky enough to have children, they can have one too.”

But Harry, who has fought to protect his privacy and that of his American actress girlfriend, Meghan Markle, admits to worrying that "someone will snap me with their phone" as he steps away from his supermarket's meat counter. He calls it a "tricky balancing act" to avoid diluting "the magic" of Team Royal by seeming too ho-hum. Yet the ginger-haired blueblood credits Princess Diana with showing him how the other half lives. "Thank goodness," he says. Of the iconic image of Harry, then 12, and his brother following their mother's coffin through the London streets nearly 20 years ago, Harry says, "I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances." (Princess Di's death led to "total chaos" for Harry.)

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