Prince Harry’s former celebrity pal admits the duke dropped him for Meghan Markle

In his younger years, Prince Harry was the life of the party. He seemed reckless, wild, and always up for a good time. In fact, at one point, he had so much fun that his naked photos from a private Las Vegas party landed online and caused a big royal scandal. But that was then — before he met Meghan Markle.

After getting together with the former Suits star, the royal prince’s wild ways came to an abrupt halt. Allegedly, Harry even cut ties with his closest pals to complete his transformation into a seemingly perfect gentleman. Now one of his former friends is speaking up about what it was like being dumped by the royal.

While appearing on Aussie duo Jase and Lauren’s breakfast radio show, British comedian Jack Whitehall opened up about the time the Duke of Sussex “dropped” him after meeting Markle. “I was quite good friends with Harry back in the day — pre-Meghan, when he was a tearaway,” Whitehall revealed.

The comedian went on to share how their friendship had flourished during the time when Harry was living it up in his single days, partying till dawn. Whitehall even jokingly offered to be Harry’s “royal wingman” while hosting the Royal Variety Performance in 2015. But a year later, everything changed when Prince Harry met the actress, and Whitehall found himself out in the cold.

Whitehall, who admitted to meeting a couple of the other royal family members when he and Prince Harry were still close, felt that his pal quickly turned his back on his carefree days of partying and fun and made drastic changes to his lifestyle after welcoming Markle into his life.

However, he also downplayed the level of their closeness when asked about that time when King Charles’ younger son got into trouble for playing strip billiards in Vegas. “No, annoyingly, I wasn’t there for the naked billiards,” he admitted to the hosts before adding, “But I had a few nights out with him when he was quite fun.” He then quipped, “I wouldn’t say I was part of the inner circle.”

Though Whitehall did not disclose the specifics of the timeline, it’s evident that the royal cut ties with him before he decided to get serious in life. When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot in 2018, the Fresh Meat actor was not invited.

Like his former pal, Whitehall admitted that he has also put his wild days behind him. However, he clarified that “there’s still a demon inside [him]” from time to time, so it seems he has not fully hung up his party shoes, unlike the Duke of Sussex, who is now a dedicated husband and father to Markle and their children — 5-year-old Archie and 3-year-old Lilibet.

Interestingly, it’s not just his friends that Prince Harry let go because of Markle. In 2020, he also made the bold decision to leave the Royal Family and move with his wife to California. The royal couple and their children currently reside in Montecito, where they enjoy more freedom to do what they want and work on their goal of becoming “financially independent.”