This Cheeky Queen Elizabeth And Prince Harry TikTok Speaks Volumes About Their Bond

All families are difficult to navigate, but that might be even more true for the royal family. The relationship between Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and the rest of his family has been fractured for a while and unfortunately, Harry and his brother William, Prince of Wales' relationship has worsened since Queen Elizabeth II's death in 2022. Despite the drama, Queen Elizabeth and Harry's relationship was always special, and a video that made the rounds on TikTok a decade after it was shot has proven that they had a bond unlike any other.

The clip was from an event for veterans who were part of a Walking with the Wounded fundraising expedition to the South Pole. Harry was the Expedition Patron on Team U.K. for that 2013 journey. He participated in a similar journey to the North Pole in 2011, which the TikTok clip uploaded by @princess__jo referenced.

"I took myself and Prince Harry to the North Pole," a man told Queen Elizabeth in the video. "Oh, did you? Oh, did you? That was brave," the queen replied. Harry leaned in, the picture of cheeky, and said, "I shared a tent with him, Granny." Queen Elizabeth laughed and Harry added, "That's ... incredibly brave, on my part." The man from the beginning of the video played along and added, "I survived." Queen Elizabeth's chuckling at Harry's joke shows that they got along well and shared a relaxed sense of humor.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex's quip about sharing a tent is not the only time he has goofed around with Queen Elizabeth II. Bryan Kozlowski penned a book titled "Long Live the Queen! 13 Rules for Living from Britain's Longest Reigning Monarch" and shared a story of a prank done by young Harry. According to the story, after her grandchildren helped with a lesson in texting, Harry took Queen Elizabeth's phone: "Prankster Prince Harry reportedly used the opportunity to record the following voice mail message on his grandmother's cell: 'Hey, wassup? This is Liz! Sorry I'm away from the throne. For a hotline to Philip, press one; for Charles, press two; for the corgis, press three'" (via Marie Claire).

Together, Harry and the queen had some mischievous fun together when they co-starred in an Invictus Games advertisement. The video for the 2016 games featured the Windsors dealing with smack-talk from the Obamas. The queen wasn't often seen doing sketches like that, proving that her and Harry's bond was different than her bond with other members of her family. 

People reported a quote from an insider that sums it up perfectly: "If Harry asks, the Queen would say yes — as she adores him."

Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth II's relationship wasn't always good, however. They ran into some conflict in the years preceding her death. A source told Vanity Fair that the wedding between Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, negatively affected his relationship with the queen somewhat: "I think she was dismayed by his attitude in general and I remember speaking to her and her being rather upset by how beastly Harry was being. Their relationship was quite badly damaged by it all." 

A different source also mentioned to the outlet that Harry and Meghan's decision to distance themselves from the royal family and their behavior at that time was a point of contention between the grandmother and grandson. They added, "What was once a very warm and jokey grandmother grandson rapport has dissipated." 

However, Harry addressed rumors that Queen Elizabeth was angry he left the royal family, denying that they were true. In April 2022, he spoke with Hoda Kotb on "Today" about a recent visit with his grandmother, saying, "She's always got a great sense of humor with me," implying that their relationship was still good despite past tensions. When Kotb asked if Harry was able to "make her laugh" like he usually did, Harry responded: "Yeah I did. It was really nice to catch up with her."