Prince Harry has strongly denied claims he referred to his son Prince Archie as his “little African child.”
The claim was made by journalist Tina Brown during an interview on fellow journalist Katie Couric’s YouTube show Next Question with Katie Couric.
The Duke of Sussex’s alleged remark came up in a conversation between Brown and the late primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall, who she claims noted the odd comment.
A spokesperson for Prince Harry has denied claims he referred to Prince Archie as “his little African child.” (AP)
“Jane Goodall, before she died, I had a lunch with her,” Brown said to Couric.
“She was one of the only people outside the family that went to see Archie when he was born.”
Brown went on to claim “Harry said, ‘This is my little African child.'”
The journalist said Harry continued, saying, “‘It’s going to be my child who, you know, wild child, essentially.'”
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The alleged comment came up in a conversation between Tina Brown and Dr. Jane Goodall, Brown claimed. (Instagram/meghan)
A spokesperson for the royal refuted the claim in a statement to People, saying that “the Duke of Sussex has never said anything remotely resembling what is being claimed.”
The spokesperson claimed Brown was “inventing these words and attributing them to a highly respected woman who is deceased and unable to correct the record.”
The allegations were discussed amid wider conversation in Brown’s interview about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepping back from royal roles in 2020.
Brown said, “I’m told that the Queen always thought that Harry would go off and want to be out of the royal family.”
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“They all expected him to kind of go to Africa and become a person who focused on conservation of animals in Africa and live a kind of off-the-grid life, is what they all thought.”
Prince Harry and Goodall met in December 2018 when he invited her to Kensington Palace to discuss their shared passion for environmental conservation.
He and Meghan released a statement following Goodall’s death in October, referring to the late conservationist as a “visionary humanitarian, scientist, friend to the planet, and friend to us.“
Goodall was a renowned primatologist and conservationist. (Apic/Getty)
She and Harry first met in 2018, when she was invited to Kensington Palace. (Chris Allerton/British Vogue)
“She held our son, Archie, when he was first born, and showered love and care to those who were privileged to know her,” the statement continued.
“She will be deeply missed.”
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