Boris Johnson was not asked by Buckingham Palace to try and persuade Prince Harry to stay in the UK, according to new claims.
The former Prime Minister claims in a new book that he was asked to give the Duke of Sussex a “manly pep talk” to convince him not to step back from his royal duties.
He claimed that officials from Buckingham Palace and Downing Street made the request in the belief that a last-minute intervention, in January 2020, might encourage Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to change their minds.
In Unleashed, his memoir which will be published on October 10, Johnson describes “a ridiculous business… when they made me try to persuade Harry to stay. Kind of manly pep talk. Totally hopeless.
The pair enjoyed an “informal” 20-minute meeting, as was reported at the time, which took place behind closed doors on the margins of a UK-Africa investment summit in London’s Docklands, on January 20, 2020.
Sources close to the Duke of Sussex confirmed that the then-Prime Minister did suggest that both he and Meghan remain in the UK.
However, sources with knowledge of such meetings at the time insisted to The Telegraph that the Palace did not ask Johnson to intervene.
The publication has also reported that no specific formal request was made by Downing Street either.
The following day, Prince Harry flew to Canada to be reunited with Meghan and their son, Prince Archie.
The previous evening, the duke had delivered a speech at an event for Sentebale, his charity based in Lesotho, in which he said he had “no other option” but to step back from royal life and spoke of his sadness that it had “come to this”.
A week earlier, on January 13, the duke joined his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, father King Charles, and elder brother Prince William for the Sandringham Summit to decide the terms of his exit.
In his memoir, Spare, the duke claimed that his brother “screamed and shouted” at him during the talks before “an agreement of sorts was reached.
Since then, Harry has focused on establishing a new life in California, while also continuing his charitable work.
It was confirmed on Friday that the duke will return early next month to Lesotho for the first time in almost six years.
Meghan will not join him on the visit, which will focus on advancing youth prosperity and challenges around digital inclusion, education, and employment.
Prince Harry will also reunite with Prince Seeiso, with whom he co-founded Sentebale in 2006, shortly after he lost his own mother.
