Prince Harry: It’s hard to follow in the Queen’s footsteps

Admiration: Prince Harry at a function with his grandmother the Queen
PA
Robert Jobson24 March 2016

Prince Harry has spoken about the difficulty of living up to the expectations of people around the world when he follows in the footsteps of his well-travelled grandmother.

The prince, 31, told a TV documentary to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday next month that he could think of nowhere on Earth she has not visited.

He says on ITV’s Our Queen At Ninety: “People have always said, ‘Do you feel as if you’re following in her footsteps?’ Well that’s exactly what we are doing.

“There is nowhere on this planet I can think of that she hasn’t been in the last 90 years. She has been everywhere.

“Sometimes it’s quite hard because you go to a place where she hasn’t visited for maybe 20, maybe 15 years and you think, ‘How could I ever fulfil this huge expectation that comes with her and being a member of her family?’”

In new footage released from the programme, which will be broadcast on Easter Sunday at 8pm, the Queen is seen inspecting Buckingham Palace’s ballroom ahead of a state banquet.

The monarch tells an aide how microphones for speeches — now discreetly hidden in floral displays — used to be placed in a very different way. Gesturing with her hand, she recalls: “In the old days, you see, they used to march them up the middle and plonk them down in front.” She is also shown preparing to tackle state papers at her desk in the palace. She places her handbag on her chair, puts on her glasses and stands as she uses a key to open her red box containing the official documents.

The Countess of Wessex, one of many royals interviewed for the programme, talks about the need for the Queen’s outfits to catch people’s attention.

Sophie says: “Don’t forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, 10, 15 deep and somebody wants to be able to say that they saw a bit of the Queen’s hat as she went past.

“She needs to stand out for people to be able to say, ‘I saw the Queen’.”

Our Queen At Ninety, Easter Sunday, 8pm, ITV.

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