Prince Harry previously shared that his friends threatened to "knock him out" after he revealed that he wanted a tattoo on his foot. The 41-year-old is not believed to have any tattoos, but previously revealed that he wanted to get one dedicated to one of his favourite places in the world - Botswana.
Tattoo plan revealed in memoir
Writing in his memoir Spare, which was released in early 2023, Harry wrote how, in 2012, he wanted something to "commemorate" his visit to Las Vegas and "symbolise his sense of freedom", deciding that a tattoo may be the answer. He then shared that his friends turned him against the idea - and even threatened to "knock him out" if he went through with his plan.
Harry wrote: "I was in rough shape, and filling up with... ideas. I need something to commemorate this trip, I decided. Something to symbolise my sense of freedom, my sense of carpe diem. For instance.. .a tattoo? Yes! Just the thing!"
Friends' intervention
After deciding that he wanted a tattoo dedicated to Botswana, he added: "I went to find Billy the Rock to tell him where we were going. He smiled. No way."
"My mates backed him up. Absolutely not. In fact, they promised to physically stop me. I was not going to get a tattoo, they said, not on their watch, least of all a foot tattoo of Botswana."
He continued: "They promised to hold me down, knock me out, whatever it took. A tattoo is permanent, it's forever! Their arguments and threats are one of my last clear memories from that evening. I gave in. The tattoo could wait till the next day."
Botswana connection
Just four years later, in 2016, Harry took his now-wife, Meghan Markle, to Botswana. The couple spoke about the trip during their 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
Meghan said: "That summer, was going to be on hiatus from work but I had travel plans. And a cast mate of mind had said, 'Make sure you leave room for magic.' And as we were talking about, 'When are we gonna see each other next?' He said, 'I have to go to Africa to do some conservation work. I have one week off.' I said, 'I have one week off.' It was the same week. So he said, 'Do you want to come to Botswana?'"
The couple have now been married for eight years, and have since welcomed two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
