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Prince Harry: 'Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so'

The Royal Family at Trooping the Colour - JULIAN SIMMONDS
The Royal Family at Trooping the Colour - JULIAN SIMMONDS

No-one in the Royal family really wants to be king or queen, Prince Harry has suggested, as he vows they will carry out their duty for the “greater good of the people”.

Prince Harry, 32, said his family are “not doing this for ourselves”, as he speaks of trying to maintain an ordinary life alongside his extraordinary duties.

Saying he is now involved in modernising the British monarchy, he added the young Royals are determined to continue the “positive atmosphere” his grandmother the Queen has inspired for more than 60 years.

In an interview with Newsweek, an American magazine, he said: “We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people…

Prince Harry champions the Invictus Games
Prince Harry champions the Invictus Games

“Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen?

“I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time.”

Describing how he tries hard to maintain normality by doing his own supermarket shopping, he admitted making the Royal family accessible is a “tricky balancing act”, saying: “We don’t want to dilute the magic. The British public and the whole world need institutions like it.”

Prince Harry visits Borough Market - Credit: PA
Prince Harry visits Borough Market Credit: PA

The Prince also spoke of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, and her 1997 funeral at which he walked behind her coffin at the age of 12.

"My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television,” he said.

"I don't think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don't think it would happen today."

Prince Harry has previously spoken frankly about his struggle to come to terms with his mother’s death, telling the Telegraph he had buried his grief for 20 years.

Prince Harry walks behind his mother's coffin aged 12
Prince Harry walks behind his mother's coffin aged 12

In an interview at Kensington Palace, he said: “I am now fired up and energized and love charity stuff, meeting people and making them laugh.

“I sometimes still feel I am living in a goldfish bowl, but I now manage it better.

“I still have a naughty streak too, which I enjoy and is how I relate to those individuals who have got themselves into trouble.”

He added he “knows instinctively” which charities his mother would have liked him to work for, joking: “Sometimes, I can have too much passion.

Prince Harry attending the Household Division's Beating Retreat at Horse Guards Parade
Prince Harry attending the Household Division's Beating Retreat at Horse Guards Parade

“It has got me into trouble in the past, partly because I cannot stand the idea of people mincing around the subject rather than just getting on with it.”

Prince Harry, along with other senior Royals, has gradually taken on more official duties, aiding the Queen and fighting for his own charitable causes.

Prince Harry said he hopes to make a difference in the 'smallish window' before Prince George and Princess Charlotte take over
Prince Harry said he hopes to make a difference in the 'smallish window' before Prince George and Princess Charlotte take over

Saying he feels in a hurry to “make something of my life”, he said of his choice to focus on key causes: “The Queen has been fantastic in letting us choose. She tells us to take our time and really think things through.

“We use our time wisely. We don't want to turn up, shake hands but not get involved.”

The Queen at the wheel - Her Majesty
The Queen at the wheel - Her Majesty