Prince Harry roasts royal life at British-American luncheon

The Duke of Sussex jokes about the drama in the royal family

By Syeda Waniya
December 07, 2025
Prince Harry roasts royal life at British-American luncheon
Prince Harry compares royal life to TV show 'Downton Abbey'

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex made a joke about growing up in the royal family during his recent appearance in California.

The youngest son of King Charles, who stepped down from his role as working royal in 2020 alongside wife Meghan Markle, gave a speech at the British-American Council's 65th Annual Christmas Luncheon in Santa Monica.

Harry drew laughs when he compared his royal upbringing to Julian Fellowes' popular TV show Downton Abbey, as quoted by People Magazine.

He said, "People sometimes ask if growing up with the royal family was a bit like [show creator] Julian's [Fellowes] Downton Abbey."

Adding, "Yeah, but only one of those worlds is filled with drama, intrigue, elaborate dinners [and] marriages to Americans — and the other is a TV show."

However, the Duke of Sussex also shared some serious thoughts on living in the US as British citizen.

While admitting that it was the "first Christmas party" he'd attended in a while, Prince Harry said, "For me, being British isn’t about where you physically stand, but what you stand for."

Moreover, Harry also talked about celebrating the Fourth of July. "It's a new world to me, celebrating independence from Britain, and more specifically, independence from my great, great, great, great, great, great-grandfather."

This comes after Prince Harry appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. During his conversation with Stephen, the son of King Charles jokingly admitted that he'd be lost searching for an audition to play prince in a holiday rom-com. Moreover, he joked, "You Americans are obsessed with Christmas movies and you’re clearly obsessed with royalty, so why not?"

Harry also pointed a reference to Donald Trump, who referred himself by the royal title in February, saying, "I hear you elected a king."