Prince Harry came very close to destroying his future after making an “extremely foolish” admission about his past. Even the Duke of Sussex himself would probably admit he was too loose-lipped in his memoir Spare, not necessarily because of what he might’ve revealed about the Royal Family, but because of what he let slip about himself that almost saw him get booted out of the U.S.
Infamously, Harry came clean in his autobiography — which was recently rereleased in paperback form this October — that he had previously experimented with marijuana, cocaine, and magic mushrooms. The problem with this is that you typically have to declare any prior drug use when applying for a U.S. visa. The question of whether Harry lied on his application ultimately ballooned into a massive legal headache for him that was only resolved earlier this year.
As the court case ended in his favor, with his visa records remaining private, Harry appears to be out of the woods. That said, there is a chance things could still go against him depending on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Even so, any further repercussions for the duke’s digressions have been dubbed “most unlikely.”
Prince Harry likely to be “left in peace” even if Trump gets elected in the wake of visa scandal
Donald Trump has previously vowed he wouldn’t “protect” Prince Harry like Joe Biden has if the duke was found to have falsified his visa application, but though the threat of a second Trump term still lingers, experts believe nothing would come of the former president’s threat whatever happens.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams admitted to Express that Harry made a “foolish” mistake in declaring his drug usage in his book as he did, but given how things have played out, he is most likely safe to remain in the U.S. with his family for the foreseeable future. It helps that Harry and Meghan Markle have remained relatively neutral in the run-up to the U.S. election.
“Harry was extremely foolish to discuss his drug taking in Spare both in interviews and in the memoir, available in paperback,” Fitzwilliams opined. “However, the Sussexes have kept a relatively low profile during the election, urging Americans to vote but not being explicit as to whom for.”
With that in mind, even if the worst came to the worst (for both the Sussexes and the country), Trump taking any aggressive action against Harry remains a remote possibility. Although both sides are known to “detest” one another, it’s said that Trump would rather avoid “an embarrassing episode” involving the Royals at all costs.
“It is most unlikely that Trump would risk an embarrassing episode involving the Royal Family by expelling Harry if it was discovered that he had not revealed his drug taking on his visa application,” Fitzwilliams continued. “We know that Trump and the Sussexes detest each other but… it is safe to assume the Sussexes would be left in peace.”
If the court case had ended with an alternate verdict, however, things might’ve been very different. Maybe the fear of saying something else that he shouldn’t is what stopped Harry from adding any fresh material to the Spare paperback.