The Gist
Prince Harry recently made a surprise appearance on comedian Hasan Minhaj’s “Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know” podcast.
During the interview, the Duke of Sussex explained his hesitation around giving either of his kids a cell phone.
Harry also joked that his preferred age for Archie and Lilibet joining social media is “35.”
Amid Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s advocacy work for online safety, the Duke of Sussex is offering a few words of wisdom when it comes to kids and cell phones. The father-of-two sat down for a surprise appearance on comedian Hasan Minhaj’s “Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know” podcast.
“I don’t know if you guys have hit this crossroads yet, but what are you going to do when your kids ask for a cell phone?” Minhaj asked. “Are you going to give them a phone?”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Prince Harry had plenty of thoughts on the current debate over phone and social media usage.
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Prince Harry speaking at the 2025 WellChild Awards.
“We talk about it a lot,” the royal said. “I think that because of what we know now, we will be way more cautious and hesitant of allowing our kids to have access to social media, but the problem is, so many parents don’t have that awareness.”
Instagram/Meghan Markle
Prince Harry with his daughter Lilibet.
The prince went on, declaring that “in no logical, fair, ethical, moral world” should a parent have to contend with their children having unregulated access to the plethora of apps now available on smartphones.
“Having a phone for your kid is a really important thing, but the moment that you give them the gateway to everything else, kids will be kids,” he said, adding, “a lot of parents feel as if they don’t have a choice, and a lot of kids don’t have a choice.”
Minhaj then asked the duke if he had a preferred age for his children to join social media, to which Harry quipped, “35.” He also conceded that 21 was a “sensible” age but that companies wouldn’t “allow” it. “They will throw tens of millions of dollars to lobby against that,” he said.
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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the Project Healthy Minds 2025 Gala.
Prince Harry isn’t the only royal with strict rules against social media, of course. Though he and Prince William seem to agree on little these days, they do have a distrust of cell phones in common.
“None of our children have any phones, which we’re very strict about,” the Prince of Wales recently told Eugene Levy on his new series The Reluctant Traveler, per People.
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