Prince Harry was not allowed to be himself during a high-profile sporting event, a former employee recalls.
The Duke of Sussex, who participated in the World Darts Championship in 2014, told
Barry Hearn that he must not identify with a normal man.
Speaking about their time at Alexandra Paalce, Hearn said: “He’d just come out of the army and he’s obviously a bit of a bender, I think. He brought three mates. They were great fun.
“And at one point the audience started singing. The rules were quite strict. We were only allowed to put his face on the big screens three times during the evening, just a glimpse.
He added: “So he had a proper night out with his mates, had a few pints, enjoyed himself. And the crowd started chanting: ‘Harry, Harry, give us a wave’. And he looked at me and I saw a bit of curiosity in his face – like he was going to say, ‘what am I going to do?’
“I looked at him and said, ‘if you stand up now and wave back to these people, your street credibility is guaranteed for life because you’ve identified with the normal man, the people who make up the majority of this country’. And he looked at me and said, ‘I don’t think I’m allowed to do that’… I thought that was pretty sad,” the pundit noted.
