We have to hand it to Prince Harry. He’s gotten so creative in ticking off the Royal Family through the years, with his latest attempt being a flagrant display of rebelliousness. And, well, he made a lot of people laugh while doing so.
This week, Prince Harry starred in a promotional video for the upcoming Invictus Games, the multi-sport event he founded in 2014 for the wounded and injured service people and veterans. In the supposedly funny video, the Duke of Sussex apparently showed him getting a tattoo from Grammy-nominated singer-rapper Jelly Roll.
Harry showcased his comedic side by exchanging humorous banter with the recording artist. For instance, the royal prince cheekily suggested getting a tattoo either on his lower back or buttocks. But Jelly Roll shut his suggestion down by telling him, “Nobody wants to see your [behind], Harry!”
Then royal found out what the novice tattoo artist had done. Prince Harry requested a small tattoo, but Jelly Roll ended up making a big skin art on the royal’s neck that read, “I AM Jelly Roll.” The revelation made the Duke of Sussex so furious that he cussed at the end of the clip.
The modern-day prodigal son of the Royal Family received praise from many social media users. One wrote on X, “Gosh, he is just so effortlessly cool. I love this. Can’t wait to watch [the games],” while another commented, “This was such a smart way to promote Invictus and also announce Jelly Roll as the closing act!! Love his music!!”
Interestingly, while Harry’s creative juices brought in a lot of laughs, there was palpable tension and uneasiness among other royal fans when the promotional clip went live, likely stemming from the belief that the royals don’t generally get tattoos.
However, PureWow’s Roberta Fiorito has claimed that having tattoos is not technically against royal protocol. However, she also admitted that it’s not encouraged, especially among the main members of the British royal family, and that includes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, even though they had already stepped down from their royal obligations and moved to the U.S.
Outside the inner circle of the British monarchy, the unspoken rule is not that big of a deal. Some members, including Princess Eugenie and Lady Amelia Windsor, have been spotted flaunting their permanent body art during engagements and public events, according to Fiorito.
It is worth noting at this point that Prince Harry’s tattoo was nothing more than a PR stunt for his foundation’s big event in February 2025. He filmed the promo clip last September during a solo trip to NYC, and he hasn’t been spotted with the supposedly permanent ink on his neck since then, despite being seen in public in the months that followed.
But this is Prince Harry we are talking about, after all. No matter what he does at this point, he still gets flak from many royal supporters. Some have even drawn parallels between him and his late mother, Princess Diana, for being notorious rule breakers in the Royal Fold. It also does not help that he’s married to another serial royal protocol violator, Markle.