A lovely posh woman once told me that should things ever become too much in my life, there was a simple solution: “Just book yourself into a five-star hotel and forget about it. Works every time.” When Prince Harry arrived back in Britain last week to take on the British press in court, rumor has it that he did just that.
Instead of spending the night at his previous home, Frogmore Cottage, or one of the many rooms at Buckingham Palace or Clarence House, he stayed at Soho House, the private members’ club and hotel.
It would not be surprising. Harry is accustomed to a luxurious life and some of these castles are getting far too shabby nowadays. There’s also the fact Meghan and Harry’s first ever date was at the Soho House on 76 Dean Street, London. In Harry’s memoir, Spare, the prince recounted sneaking into the private club in a freight lift, where he waited “breathlessly” outside Meghan’s hotel room until she opened the door and “pulled me inside.” Too much information.
But Harry frequenting hotels, especially in a country where his family own multiple palaces and castles, shows just how fractured his relationship with them is. “Post-coronation they are merely ignoring him and Meghan,” a royal source told The Spectator. “It’s pretty clear that they are banished after all that has happened now.” The Telegraph reported that during this trip Harry was “not believed to have seen” his father, King Charles, or his brother, Prince William. As usual, he boarded a flight back home to California on Thursday afternoon, wanting to get back to his family “as quickly as possible.”
This isn’t the first time that old Harry has preferred the clean sheets of an expensive hotel to a multi-million dollar home. Last month it was reported that the prince allegedly has a room at the San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood “set aside” for him if ever he needs a break from the arduous work of being a celebrity royal. Sources claimed that it was viewed as “an escape place” by him. A representative for the duke later denounced the rumor as untrue.
As hearsay swirls about the decaying state of Harry and Meghan’s relationship, as the prince continues on his crusade against the British press and as he battles the DC think tank trying to get him deported, he may not have his family around to support him, or many of his old friends. But at least Harry does have the luxury of checking himself into a swanky hotel and letting it all blow over.
