Just FYI: I don’t believe either of the two stories we’re about to discuss. Neither makes much sense, but I guess they’re worth discussing because a certain gossip storyline is being pushed and I think I know why. The storyline? Harry is homesick and henpecked and he misses spending time with his bros, he misses the military and he’s starting to make moves away from Meghan. The people who buy that are the people who *want* to believe that. First story: Harry secretly traveled to a military base outside of Las Vegas to hang out with some friends.
Prince Harry has reportedly been paying secret visits to a US air force base after he was stripped of his military patronages when he and Meghan stepped down from the Royal Family. Even though Harry doesn’t have an official role in the UK Army, he has allegedly been meeting up with old friends from when he was an Apache helicopter pilot, according to The Sun.
It is believed that two of his old colleagues are now at Nellis base near Las Vegas – where the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor programme (commonly known as TOPGUN) are trained.
A source told the publication: ‘Harry has kept in touch with them so when they knew he was moving to the States they invited him to come and see them. He’s made informal visits to the air base where they are and they’ve been out for drinks in their down time.’
The rest of that story was just a repetition of how Harry is banned from wearing his military uniforms now, because he was punished for marrying a Black American woman. As if Harry needs to wear his British Army uniform to… hang out with friends on or near an American military base? Anyway, I doubt all of this. He’s been in Montecito and I feel like we definitely would have heard about it if he was anywhere near Las Vegas. As for the second story: Homesick Harry reconnected with old British chums while he was in the UK for Prince Philip’s funeral in April. And we’re just hearing about it now?
Friends of Prince Harry believe that while back in Britain he’s planning to reconnect with old pals from the life he left behind. I can reveal that the Duke of Sussex arranged a surprise ‘lads’ lunch’ when he was last in the country – for Prince Philip’s funeral in April – leading his friends to expect more socialising now he has returned to unveil the statue to Princess Diana.
Though lunch with your old mates may be normal for most people, many of Harry’s closest friends have felt sidelined since his 2018 wedding and his drastic move to California. But his secret get-together with members of his former inner circle has revived hopes that he hasn’t been lost to his ultra-woke new life after all.
‘After the wedding Harry cut everyone from the UK off,’ says my source. ‘But now he’s at last showing signs of wanting to reconnect with his old life. His friends are really excited, they think that the old Harry is coming back out of his shell. It sounds like he’s starting to realise that he doesn’t have to abandon his old life to enjoy a new one in California with Meghan. The two worlds he now occupies are not mutually exclusive for his friends, though they may well be for his family.’
For while Harry might be keen to reconnect with his friends, the rift with his brother seems deeper than ever. My source says that William was conspicuous by his absence from the April lunch, which was arranged specifically to include some of the male guests and ushers from Harry’s wedding party. The Duke of Cambridge was best man at the Windsor ceremony. Others in Harry’s circle who were key players at the ceremony include so-called ‘deputy best man’ Jack Mann, Charlie van Straubenzee, LA pal Arthur Landon, and Harry’s ‘surrogate godfather’ Mark Dyer, who owns a chain of West London pubs.
With coronavirus restrictions in full force they could not have their get-together in Dyer’s Fulham boozer Brook House, which might have been a favoured option.
My source adds: ‘It’s sad that William was not included in Harry’s plans for a lads’ lunch during the last visit. The only Royals who seemed to see a lot of him were Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. But then, Harry had a strange ‘deputy’ best man arrangement at his wedding, so as far back as then he can’t have been privately counting William as his best friend any more.’
Once again, would Harry have been able to get out of Windsor for several hours just to hang out with old friends whom he had already cut off? I don’t know. It sounds like wishful thinking and it sounds like Harry’s old “friends” are trying to drive a wedge between Harry and Meghan… and Harry and William. I honestly don’t get the play here, at all, so… whatever.
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