Express reporter Adam Toms believes the prince has once again done the wrong thing, if reports are true.

OPINION

Harry listens to woman

Prince Harry has appeared in a MasterClass video (Image: Getty)

Prince Harry has put his foot in it once again. He has returned to the UK with Meghan Markle after a seemingly unsuccessful attempt to carve out a life separate from the Royal Family as “public figures” in their own right, yet clearly still thinks the world is hanging on his every word. King Charles’s second son has appeared in a MasterClass video with neuroscientist Dr Mary-Frances O’Connor speaking about grief and mental health. The content is actually quite touching and helpful.

“I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks, and I felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline,” Harry said, talking about the death of his mother, Princess Diana. Dr O’Connor says: “Your brain doesn’t register your loved one as gone – it registers them as lost.

“And it will keep searching until you teach it otherwise. We still expect that they’re going to walk through the door.” Genuinely insightful. But the film appears less noble when you read about how much money the prince supposedly pocketed as a result of it.

Instructors can expect an upfront payment of at least £75,500 and 30% of any subscription revenue generated, Forbes reports. A spokesperson for the prince has confirmed that he was paid, adding: “I’d encourage everyone to watch it before casting any judgement.”

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They also said Harry should not be criticised for “speaking from the heart”, according to the Daily Mail. I think the British public, indeed people across the world, can decide for themselves if the Duke of Sussex deserves to be judged. He professes to care a lot about grief and mental health, and I am sure this is true.

Surely, then, he would be happy to do the MasterClass video for free, all in the name of helping people, and not take all that money, if the reports are true? You would like to think that anyway. Taking all that cash would only play into accusations of grifting levelled at Harry and Meghan since they stopped being working members of the Royal Family in 2020.

Some may even think he is exploiting the memory of his mother and the sympathy people feel for him over her tragic death. Aside from morality, it is an extremely poor look from a public relations point of view, and will not go any way to winning the public around.

YouGov polling suggests 58% of Brits see Harry in a negative light, and 65% dislike Meghan. If they keep acting in such a naive manner, the Duke and Duchess simply have no hope of getting into royal fans’ good books again.

They need to remember – if offered lots of money for doing very little you don’t have to say yes. And saying no a little more often might just be the smartest thing they can do.