The False Rumor People Believe About Prince Harry's Party-Filled Past
Of all the times the Duke of Sussex has been in the news, nothing compares to the controversial story about Prince Harry from the early aughts, when it was reported he visited a drug rehabilitation center as a wake-up call. One of the most startling revelations from Harry's memoir, "Spare," was the fact that major parts of that story were fabricated. Although Harry was honest in the book that he smoked cannabis while at Eton (and later tried cocaine), he debunked other elements of the story and provided his own perspective.
The tabloid News of the World, which ended its circulation in 2011, broke a shocking story in January 2002 with the headline "Harry's Drugs Shame." While Prince William was away for the summer and then-Prince Charles was working away from the house often, Harry spent long periods by himself at their Highgrove estate. Per The Guardian, an insider told NOTW, "During a period covering June and July 2001, Prince Harry fell in with a bad lot at the Rattlebone Inn." Apparently, Harry was involved in some fighting that happened there, along with lots of drinking. One of Harry's new friends supposedly convinced him to try cannabis on this occasion, as well.
As the story goes, someone who worked for the royal family informed Charles of a weed smell following a party Harry threw at Highgrove. Charles asked William to advise his brother to visit a treatment center for drug addiction as a learning experience, which apparently Harry did for a day.
Harry denied smoking weed but became a scapegoat
It was reported Prince Harry visited Featherstone Lodge Rehabilitation Centre in London. "He came for a couple hours on a day in late summer and talked to several people in recovery — heroin and cocaine addicts mostly," Bill Puddicombe, an executive for the group that operated Featherstone, said, per BBC News. Clive Goodman was the royal editor for News of the World at the time, and he told BBC News 24, "[Harry's] father thought he would benefit from a short, sharp, shock at a rehabilitation center." Goodman also commended then-Prince Charles and Prince William for their work in helping Harry.
Harry had his fair share of drinking-and-drug-related scandals in the years following. However, he said much of that first story was untrue. In "Spare," Harry said the News of the World editor — Rebekah Brooks, although he called her a pseudonym according to Newsweek — provided "evidence" for Prince Charles' team confirming Harry's so-called drug habit.
Harry described royal aide Mark Dyer visiting him at Eton and questioning him about drug use. Harry said it was "lies," but PR expert Mark Bolland, often referred to asCharles' "spin doctor," had a different idea for those allegations: "No more the unfaithful husband, Pa would now be presented to the world as the harried single dad coping with a drug-addled child."
'The Crown' didn't delve into Harry's side of the story
The drug use Mark Dyer asked Prince Harry about — that he denied — was printed as fact. Harry continued, "The story not only had me down as a habitual drug user, it had me recently going to rehab. Rehab!" The newspaper editor printed photos of Harry at a rehabilitation center for a charity visit and twisted them to fit the narrative. Harry was upset people would believe the story and felt betrayed by his family, but he had his brother's sympathy.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace spoke with Press Gazette after the story ran and explained how News of the World wanted to write this story for a while but they fought against it. The source admitted when the newspaper had information that "was not inaccurate," they couldn't stop them from running the story. However, according to Newsweek, court documents say the initial story also included alleged cocaine use, which Buckingham Palace got taken out.
Since the creator of "The Crown" confirmed to Variety he didn't read "Spare," the show didn't include how the story was exaggerated. "The Crown" Season 6 did touch on the drug story, however, and featured a tense conversation between brothers where fictional Harry lamented about how the world sees him. Although the show isn't fully accurate, those feelings may be similar to what Harry really felt at the time (and now).