Prince Harry was seen taking a seat far from the action as the New York Knicks won the NBA championship on Sunday – while his celebrity peers watched from courtside.
While members of the Royal Family greeted crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony at Trooping the Colour, the Duke of Sussex was taking in one of the NBA’s most anticipated games from rows behind.
Historically accustomed to the best seats in the house, Prince Harry, 41, wandered into Frost Bank Centre and took his assigned seat eight rows back from the courtside action, where a slew of celebrities sat mere centimetres away from the action.
Among the A-listers were Oscar nominee Timothy Chalamet and his girlfriend Kylie Jenner, as well as avid Knicks fan Ben Stiller.
The royal was wearing a navy polo shirt, navy slacks and a baseball cap, and attended the sporting event with US Army veteran and Purple Heart Warrior Games athlete, JP Lane.
Harry watched from afar as the New York franchise beat the San Antonio Spurs in a fifth game, 94-90.
The glaring difference between the life Prince Harry once led to now being relegated to the nosebleed section is a direct reflection of the couple’s confusing quasi-royal lifestyle.
The Montecito couple have been grappling with their place in the world after stepping back as working members of the royal family in 2020, with their sights set on living a ‘half in, half out’ life.
It seems that instead of having the best of both worlds, the pursuit of a perfect balance has come back to bite them.
The former British Army Captain and his former Hollywood actress wife have been very active in their pursuit of fame, often hanging off the coattails of their seemingly famous friends.
Meghan has reportedly held a long-time friendship with tennis icon Serena Williams, and has been seen partying with the Kardashians at Kris Jenner’s 60th birthday bash, but it seems neither connection could help Harry in this case.
The years of tension between the couple and the monarchy could see the door be permanently closed when Prince William becomes King, royal experts reveal, while disdain from the American public threatens their success as celebrities.
Alexander Larman, who penned Power and Glory: Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty, said that although the American people have affection for the royal family, Harry and Meghan have not achieved the lifestyle they risked everything for.
“In America, there is this great love and affection for the royal family, but there’s also the sense that Harry and Meghan were not quite the people they thought they were going to be,” Larman added.
If the pair came knocking on royal doors once more, royal expert Maureen Callahan said it might be too late.
“I do think Harry and Meghan, their titles will be stripped,” she told podcast Jo Elvin and Katie Nicholl on The Royals Uncensored podcast.
She went on to say that, despite Harry and Meghan calling the United States home over the past six years, Americans wouldn’t lose too much sleep over their downfall.
“And we in America will be cheering him [Prince William] on.”
Prince Harry is expected to make a trip to the UK in July in preparation for next year’s Invictus Games, but whether he will see his brother or father is unconfirmed.