Prince Harry Almost Got Political During His Today Programme Guest Editorship

Royals usually stay out of it.
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Members of the British Royal family usually do their best to stay out of politics but when Prince Harry took the reins at BBC Radio 4, he came close to getting political several times.

The Prince joined the presenters of the current affairs programme in the studio and said the issues he had chosen, which included mental health, the charitable sector and the Armed Forces, were “incredibly important topics we all need to think about and need to be discussed.”

He also interviewed his own father, the Prince of Wales, and former US president Barack Obama.

Prince Harry gestures as he guest-edits the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme
Prince Harry gestures as he guest-edits the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme
Handout . / Reuters

He added: “Part of my job, part of my role is to shine a spotlight on these issues whatever it is.

“So I will continue to play my part in society and do my job to the best of my abilities so I can wake up in the morning feeling energised and go to bed hopefully knowing that I’ve done the best that I can.”

But here are five moments Harry very-nearly-almost became political with his guest editorship...

1. On Inviting Obama And Not Trump To His Wedding

Harry carefully sidestepped a question about the guest list for his wedding - a potential diplomatic nightmare reported to be sending the UK Government into a spin - which will take place in May next year.

He said: “I don’t know about that. We haven’t put the invites or the guest-list together yet.

“So who knows whether he’s going to be invited or not? I wouldn’t want to ruin that surprise.”

The government pleading with Prince Harry to not invite close friends The Obamas to his wedding, over fears it will offend Trump. Embarrassing and pathetic. GO ON HARRY.

— Sali Hughes (@salihughes) December 26, 2017

2. On Social Media

The Prince pressed Obama on whether he could have done more while in office regarding social media.

He said: “The social media landscape has changed dramatically [since you took office], issues of trolling, fake news and cyber-bullying are major social issues - is there more you could have done as President to get ahead of some of these issues?”

Up next... Prince Harry interviews @BarackObama on his time in office and hopes for the future #r4today pic.twitter.com/q2cNVNfRvo

— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) December 27, 2017

3. On The Events Of 2017

Although he didn’t specify why, Harry did acknowledge that 2017 had been something of a tough year.

He said to Obama: “At the end of 2016 many people were relieved it had finished, it was a turbulent year - 2017 hasn’t exactly been easy for the world and many people are worried about the direction the world is headed.

“Can you give a reason for people to feel optimistic for the year ahead?”

Prince Harry on @BBCr4today: “2017 hasn’t exactly been easy for the world, many are worried about the direction it’s going in”. What could he mean?

— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) December 27, 2017

4. On Climate Change

The Prince, whose father is known for his concern about the environment, said nature was giving “clues” about what was going wrong in nature.

He added: “I’m determined to make sure that myself and the young generation and everybody else this pendulum is going to swing and 2018 is going to be a fantastic year and we all need to play our part.”

Intereting and rare glimpse into that father/son relationship between Prince Harry and Prince Charles. Their chat on @BBCr4today focussed on Charles’ key concerns: climate change/Humana abuse of nature. Now, fewer people think my thoughts are quite so ‘dotty’, said Charles

— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) December 27, 2017

5. On Military Cuts

Harry, who himself served in Afghanistan, seemed to touch upon the row over cuts to the military, when he said there are “not so many” in the forces now.

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