Prince Harry's Perfect Response To A Royal Aide Who Addressed Him Informally

Regardless of how much you follow the goings on of the royal family, we all know just how many royal rules there are to follow — not only for the family themselves but also those who interact with them. However, what happens if you make a mistake with one of those rules? As it turns out, it's really no problem, at all — just as long as it's Prince Harry to whom you're talking. 

It's no secret that Harry and Meghan Markle are much more laidback than their family members when it comes to royal formalities. In fact, since their history-making decision to move away from the UK and leave their positions as working royals, Harry and Meghan have seemed a lot more like just a normal couple than members of the royal family. If someone was going to disregard important royal rules, it's no surprise that Harry would be the one to do it. 

There were more than a few startling revelations that came out of Harry's memoir, "Spare." However, a lesser-known book gave a different perspective and spilled the beans about what Harry is like in real life. "Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown" by Valentine Low was originally published in 2022 and has now been updated with a new chapter. In it, an aide recalls an interaction with Harry in which he accidentally called the duke "mate," and in response, Harry was as relaxed and amiable as we've come to expect.

According to "Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind The Crown," even back when King Charles III was the Prince of Wales, staff always referred to the royal with formal titles like "Your Royal Highness" or "Sir." Of course, this level of formality carried over to his sons, as well. According to the book, Prince William and Prince Harry's former press secretary Ed Perkins once made a slip-up when addressing Harry. He accidentally texted the prince using the greeting, "Hello, mate." He was quickly taken aback by his own mistake, but the text message had already been sent. He immediately sent another message, saying, "So sorry, just called you mate. I didn't mean to." Harry's response to the error was a simple message back, saying, "Please don't worry."

It's clear based on Harry's kind reaction that well before he gave up his role as a formal royal, he was already eager to give up some of the stuffy, antiquated rules that came along with his title. And, it seems that this wasn't the only time that Harry was comfortable doing away with these formal regulations. Low wrote, "When Nick Loughran worked at Kensington Palace as a press secretary, he would call Harry by his first name but tended to be more formal with Prince William because their relationship was not so close." It seems that even when speaking to their aides, the princes fell into their roles of "heir and spare."

It's easy to see that Prince William always viewed himself as the future king, while Prince Harry wasn't quite as interested in associating with the formalities of royal life. This didn't stop at the use of his title. 

In Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand's "Finding Freedom: Harry, Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family," a biography about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the authors noted just how often Harry's distaste for certain "stuffier" elements of royal life manifested. "Not one for pomp and circumstance, [Prince Harry] never liked certain 'stuffy' engagements, like state banquets at Buckingham Palace, or the overly formal attire they sometimes required." They wrote. "To this day, Harry doesn't like wearing a tie."

On the other hand, it seems that William has been more inclined to embrace all the aspects of royal life and fulfill his duty exactly as those before him have. From this perspective, it isn't difficult to see why many folks believe that William might never forgive Harry for how he's abandoned his royal role. While it's clear that William isn't happy about his brother's choices, it's safe to assume that Harry is feeling plenty of relief to have left the world of the royal family. At the very least, he surely has many more people who feel comfortable calling him "mate" these days.