Princess Diana's former bodyguard has claimed Prince Harry "was wrong to blame the media" for his UK exit. Ken Wharfe, who served as Diana's royal protection officer, spoke exclusively to the Daily Express US about the Duke of Sussex's departure from the Royal Family.
Background of Megxit
On 8 January 2020, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle announced they would be departing the United Kingdom, in what the tabloids famously dubbed "Megxit." Queen Elizabeth II reportedly convened an emergency summit just days later to discuss the terms of their exit, with Buckingham Palace confirming that the couple would no longer serve as working royals nor use their "Royal Highness" (HRH) titles. The transition period formally came into effect several months later on 31 March 2020, marking the official end of their working royal duties.
Following the couple's departure, a 12-month review period began, with the Palace confirming on 21 February 2021 that their move was permanent and that they had formally stepped down from their remaining honorary military appointments and royal patronages.
Harry's reasons for leaving
The couple's principal reason for their departure centred on hostility from the press, with Prince Harry repeatedly describing the British tabloid media as "toxic" and damaging to his family's wellbeing. Furthermore, he expressed fears of history repeating itself, voicing concerns for his wife's safety and drawing parallels between the aggressive media pursuit and the treatment endured by his late mother, Princess Diana.
However, Ken Wharfe, who became one of the Princess of Wales's closest confidants during the most turbulent years of her marriage to the then-Prince Charles, argued that Harry was "wrong to blame the media" for walking away from The Firm. According to Ken, he does not believe that Harry's relocation was a "direct consequence of his mother's death," but instead a "complex" situation.
Ken Wharfe's perspective
"Harry clearly has a deep dislike of the media and the paparazzi," he said. "Much of his public life in recent years has centered around legal action against media organizations, together with his disputes with the Government and the Metropolitan Police over security. In my view, though, that has very little to do with Diana."
He explained that Diana "accepted media intrusion" as she understood it was part of being a royal, just as Queen Camilla and King Charles reportedly do. Ken also highlighted the distinction between the press and the paparazzi, telling us on behalf of Casino Canada: "Members of the Royal Family still encounter paparazzi from time to time, but the level of intrusion today is nothing like it was during the 1980s and 1990s. That's reflected in the sheer volume of coverage. Back then, it was relentless."
Yet Ken believes Harry was "wrong" to apportion blame to the press, suggesting the Duke of Sussex "failed" to grasp their role. "Harry, in my view, was wrong to blame the media in the way that he has. I think he has made a rather MGM production out of the media insofar as his wife and family were concerned, and he's failed to find a way to acknowledge and deal with this," he said. "I think he failed, in my view, to understand the role of the media. Yes, the media could be intrusive, as his mother experienced throughout her life, but the media did not kill Diana."
