Prince Harry has spent the better part of his adult life as one of the most rebellious members of the Royal Family. When he was younger, he generated headlines for antics like wearing a costume with a swastika on it to a costume party and stripping down to his birthday suit during shenanigans in Las Vegas. He eventually grew out of this particular phase, but then he surprised everyone by marrying Meghan Markle, an American celebrity who had been married once before.
She was a controversy magnet herself, and the two eventually took rebellion to a new level by stepping down from most of their royal responsibilities and starting a new life in America. Once he settled in, many people thought Harry would finally settle down. However, he began engaging in crazier and crazier antics, some of which kicked into high gear in 2025.
Just what has the prince been up to in the last year, and why have these controversies continued to destroy his reputation? Keep reading to find out!
Prince Harry’s major fashion faux pas
Compared to Meghan Markle, Prince Harry doesn’t typically generate that many fashion controversies. But that all changed last month when he attended Kris Jenner’s birthday party. He dressed pretty conservatively in black tie garb adorned with some special royal flair. Unfortunately, one particular bit of flair drove royalists up the wall: a simple poppy pin.
What’s the big deal with Prince Harry wearing a pin, you might ask? Simple: it’s a tradition among the Royal Family to wear these pins in the month of November in order to honor Remembrance Sunday. But Harry infamously stepped down from his royal responsibilities when he moved to America with Meghan Markle. In the eyes of the royals and their biggest fans, what he did was a major fashion faux pas…a bit like stolen valor from a man who stepped down from one of the most prestigious positions in the entire world!
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Trying to make Prince William look bad
Even before Harry left for America, he had a major beef with Prince William, his brother and the future King of England. By all accounts, their relationship has only gotten worse since then, proving that absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder. And some believe that Harry tried to snub his brother in the weirdest possible way: by suddenly scheduling a trip to Canada.
According to the prince, the reason Harry traveled to the Great White North was to celebrate Remembrance Day. However, he happened to be traveling at the exact same time Prince William was traveling to Brazil to present an environmentalist award known as the Earthshot Prize. This caused some to speculate that Harry deliberately scheduled his trip at this time in order to steal some of the thunder from his famous brother.
Harry denied this, of course. But considering how weird the prince has been this past year, it was difficult for many of us to take him at his word.
A reunion with King Charles, gone wrong
Prince William isn’t the only family member with whom Prince Harry has a major beef. He has supposedly been on the outs with his father, King Charles, since before leaving England. In Harry and Meghan’s infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey, for example, he claimed that his father had financially cut him off. Charles never really responded to these claims, though Harry’s frantic attempts to strike various media deals in the United States lend credence to the idea that he’s a cash-strapped prince.
However, there were hopes that Harry and Charles would be able to squash their beef when they met this past September. It was their first meeting in over a year, and the prince visited his father in the older man’s home. However, Harry only stayed for 30 minutes, prompting rumors that the reconciliation didn’t go well. Making matters worse, there were reports that King Charles treated the prince more like a visiting guest rather than his son.
Through a representative, Harry fought back against these reports. Still, most can agree that only spending half an hour visiting your father after not seeing each other for a year is pretty darn weird!
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Prince Harry’s botched late-night appearance
By now, you may have noticed that Prince Harry’s reputation-destroying 2025 moments are often a matter of perspective. You have to know about royal traditions to know why the poppy pin was problematic, for example. And whether Harry was snubbed by his famous father or was trying to snub his equally famous brother is all a matter of perspective, more than anything else.
However, nobody can deny that his recent television appearance was a highly publicized and completely unforced error. Prince Harry recently appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and engaged in a skit where his every joke fell flat. It made him look like a complete fool, one who was chasing fame rather than embracing his current celebrity status. To be blunt, the awful skit also underscored why Harry has reportedly had trouble securing some of his kushy media deals: he’s just not that charismatic or funny!
Now, Harry’s failure to make us laugh has become a viral video shared around the world. All things considered, this was probably the single quickest way to destroy what’s left of his royal reputation!