Duke of Kent Contradicts Prince Harry’s Feeling of Being Trapped in the Royal Family

In a shocking revelation, Queen Elizabeth II's cousin, the Duke of Kent, has contradicted Prince Harry's famous comment that he felt trapped within the royal family.

The Duke of Kent's memoir, A Royal Life, marks him as the closest royal family member of the Queen so far to publish his memories of her 70-year-long reign.

The book is being compared to Harry's own memoir which is scheduled to be published before the end of the year.

The Duke of Kent made the point that he has never felt locked into a system that was operating against him as a member of the royal family.

In the prologue of his memoir, he believes supporting the Queen is the most important thing in his life.

The Queen has been close to her cousin since childhood, the pair only being 10 years apart in age.

Prince Harry stepped down from his position as a full-time working member of the royal family in 2020 with wife Meghan Markle and has since spoken of the struggles of being part of the monarchy.

Interviewed by Oprah Winfrey last year, both Harry and Meghan expressed feeling trapped inside the royal firm and said that the other family members were too.

However, the Duke of Kent has never felt similarly about his royal role.

When Prince Philip retired in 2017 the Duke was asked to step in and accompany the Queen on some of her engagements including, in previous years, the Trooping of the Colour parade.

Aged 86, the Duke lives with his wife, Catherine, at Kensington Palace and was formerly next-door neighbours with Harry and Meghan who lived at Nottingham Cottage.

Both the Duke and Duchess of Kent received invitations to attend the couple's wedding at Windsor Castle in 2018.

This year marks the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and it was announced earlier this month that the monarch would show special appreciation of her lesser-known royal cousins by inviting them to stand on Buckingham Palace's balcony for the Trooping of the Colour flypast alongside the other working royals only.

This means that Harry, Meghan and Prince Andrew will not be on the balcony as they have stepped away from royal duties.

The Duke of Kent has been invited to stand alongside his sister, Princess Alexandra and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, also cousins of the Queen.

In other news, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry might be facing a lifelong battle with lawsuits, with royal experts claiming that it's all because of them going public with their battles instead of being private like the Queen.

According to expert Amber Methill-Brown, Prince Harry's pursuit of numerous legal battles in recent years, the latest being a libel claim against the Mail on Sunday publishers' Associated Newspapers, is quite the opposite tactic to that of Queen Elizabeth who has always shied away from battling it out in public.

Methill-Brown told Newsweek, “Meghan and Harry are engaged in what will inevitably be a lifelong battle with the British tabloid, they will not be strangers to scrutiny, criticism and at times serious accusations, and if they complain, explain and bring suit each time scrutiny and serious accusations are sent their way, they will find themselves very busy.”

The royal expert also added, “For the royal family, the beauty of the never complain, never explain philosophy is consistency.

It's a mantra for all seasons, a response for all eventualities, making unequivocally clear in the face of damaging accusations, gossip or rumour that no explanation or engagement will be forthcoming.”

By departing from that strategy, Prince Harry has put himself in the position where he has to, or at least feels he has to complain about accusations and explain himself, where otherwise silence and a shrug of the regal shoulders would have been offered, concludes Methill-Brown.

It is interesting to note that while some members of the royal family feel trapped within the system, others do not.

The Duke of Kent's memoir provides a different perspective on what it means to be part of the monarchy.

As the Queen celebrates her Platinum Jubilee, it is important to reflect on the role of the royal family and how they navigate their public and private lives.