Royal Bodyguard Recalls the Terrifying Moment He Lost Young Prince Harry Outside Palace Gates
A resurfaced story about Prince Harry has his former bodyguard recalling a moment that left him stunned and scrambling
Prince Harry has been open about his childhood. We also know how he's the prankster of the lot. And it seems like once he did something that left a royal protection officer shocked. A royal expert explained that Harry "hasn't got a clue" about how things actually worked. Charles Ray shared a moment involving Ken Wharfe, who had actually been in charge of looking after a young Harry and his older brother, Prince William, back in 1986. A couple of years later, he went on to serve as Princess Diana’s bodyguard, staying in that role from 1988 to 1993.
Ray revealed on The Sun's Royal Exclusive podcast one cheeky moment involving Harry and recalled (via The Express), “I remember Ken Wharfe, the royal protection officer, and Harry would come up to him at various times, and he'd say, 'Oh, can I be a policeman today?' And he'd actually give him a radio, and so they would talk to each other when they were at Kensington Palace.”
Ray went on to share that Harry just wandered off one day. However, Wharfe suddenly had a feeling to check on him, and sure enough, the young Prince had already slipped out. Turns out, Harry, who was a little over five or seven at the time, had gone out through the gates and crossed the road to a nearby record shop. Wharfe was completely ‘aghast’ and had to rush over and bring him back. “So this, I'm reined in, I'm a poor child, you know, he hasn't got a clue what it was like, he really hasn't,” Ray commented.
Previously, Wharfe has actually spoken about the incident, admitting he genuinely thought he might lose his job after losing track of Harry. He said that the Duke had come up to him, complaining that he was bored and wanted to be “entertained,” and not long after, he had wandered off.
The former bodyguard also said he tried to keep Harry occupied by sending him off to the garage to chat with a chauffeur, before giving him yet another little task to do. He explained, “So we did that four or five times, went to the chef, went to the flower seller, whatever, in the end he said, 'Can I go down and see Aunt Jane?” He continued, “About 20 minutes later, I rang Jane and said, 'Have you sent Harry back yet?' She said, 'I sent him back ten minutes ago.'"
After stepping down from the royal duties, Harry and Meghan Markle are currently residing in California with their two children, Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie. The couple is prepared to continue their pseudo-royal tour with the next stop in Australia, and is set for a series of appearances and events this April. But the trip has already sparked backlash. Some critics have questioned whether taxpayer money is involved, and a petition opposing the visit has racked up over 39,000 signatures so far. However, a rep of the Sussexes said, “The trip is being funded privately, so I’m not sure what this petition hopes to achieve.”
