For Every Time Prince Harry Has Been Controversial, This Moment Stands Above The Rest
Throughout his life, Prince Harry has had cameras following his every move. After all, he's a public figure and a part of the royal family, so naturally people are interested in his day-to-day activities. These days, he's usually photographed attending charity events or going on dates with his wife, Meghan Markle. But back when he was the world's most eligible bachelor, Harry had his fair share of controversies, most of which are unfortunately documented for the world to see.
Before he was Prince Charming, Harry was Naughty Harry. He found himself in the middle of a handful of scandals and cringe-worthy moments he probably regrets to this day. For instance, when Harry was only 16 years old, he reportedly visited a rehab center for a day after smoking weed and drinking. In 2004, he started a fight with a group of paparazzi who were trying to take photos of him as he was leaving a nightclub. There was also that time when he attended a costume party and sported a Nazi uniform, resulting in so much backlash. "[I am] very sorry if I caused any offense or embarrassment to anyone," he said at the time. "It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize."
Now, Prince Harry has quite the wholesome image, but there was an incident in his past that will probably haunt him forever — and it all happened in Las Vegas.
What happened to Prince Harry in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas
Apparently, when you are a prince, the "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" rule doesn't apply to you — or at least that's how it went for Prince Harry, anyway.
In 2012, when he was still an avid party animal, Prince Harry thought it was a good idea to participate in a game of strip billiards. Harry apparently invited some friends over to play with him in his VIP suite, and without his knowledge, he was photographed while completely naked with a woman behind him who was also naked.
The media had a field day with the photos, and when confronted about the incident, Prince Harry expressed his regret. "At the end of the day I probably let myself down, I let my family down, I let other people down," he said at the time, per CNN. "But at the end of the day I was in a private area and there should have been a certain amount of privacy that one should expect... It was probably a classic example of me probably being too much Army and not enough prince. It's a simple case of that."
Prince Harry compared his life to The Truman Show
"You're the only one I ever knew [from the Royal Family] and simply because you were in those awesome nude photos in Vegas," actor Dax Shepherd said when Prince Harry guested on his podcast, "Armchair Expert" in May, via US Weekly. By this time, it would have been almost a decade since the whole Las Vegas scandal happened, making Harry comfortable enough to joke about the whole ordeal. "I'm sure, you're constantly looking for other people to go, sort of balance out your own behavior, right?" he replied. "It's relatable!"
While Prince Harry has gotten over the incident, the fact that it was brought up years later goes to show that those photos can sometimes precede him. He's now busy being a father to two kids and doing public service, yet he's aware that he can't escape people watching him closely. "It's a mix between 'The Truman Show' and living in a zoo," he said of his life. "The biggest issue for me was that, being born into it, you inherit the risk. You inherit every element of it without a choice. And because of the way the UK media are, they feel an ownership over you."
Harry also admitted that he wanted out before, but managed to reframe his perspective completely. "How are you going to do these things differently? How are you going to make your mum proud and use this platform to really affect change?"