Prince Harry has candidly shared his struggles with turning to alcohol for solace after being barred from serving in Afghanistan.
The Duke of Sussex disclosed a particularly tough period when he felt lost and uncertain about his future, following the decision by General Dannatt, head of the Army, to withdraw him from deployment due to the risks associated with his royal status.
In heartfelt discussions with his then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, which he recounts in his memoir Spare, Harry expressed his despair: "I pondered quitting the Army. What was the point of staying if I couldn't actually be a soldier?"
Harry also delved into a conversation he had with his elder brother, Prince William, suggesting that there might have been an undercurrent of sibling rivalry at play, reports the Mirror.
He reflected: "Most of the time Willy and I didn't have any truck with all that Heir-Spare nonsense. But now and then I'd be brought up short and realize that on some level it really did matter to him. Professionally, personally, he cared where I stood, what I was doing."
It was during this challenging time that Harry sought refuge in drinking. He described: "Not getting comfort from any quarter, I looked for it in vodka and Red Bull. And gin and tonic. I was photographed around this time going into or coming out of multiple pubs, clubs, house parties, at wee hours."
Harry has revealed the sense of abandonment he's felt since becoming a published author. He's had his fair share of disputes over his contentious book Spare, but another friendship on the rocks will leave him heartbroken.
One of his closest mates has made an 'unthinkable' move in what appears to be a snub towards Meghan Markle and seems to have abandoned him. There are whispers of a falling out with Hugh van Cutsem after he collaborated with Meghan's adversary, Jeremy Clarkson.
The former Top Gear presenter made headlines in 2022 when he penned a column for The Sun newspaper, where he harshly expressed his disdain for the Duchess of Sussex. In the piece, Clarkson voiced his wish for the Duchess of Sussex to be publicly humiliated - a sentiment later deemed sexist by the press regulator.
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Hugh van Cutsem, who has been acquainted with both Harry and Prince William since their childhood, was spotted deer stalking in episode seven of the show alongside Jeremy, suggesting that the 49-year-old is yet another friend who has fallen out with the prince.
Richard Eden from The Daily Mail was equally taken aback. Eden commented: "Anyone who doubts the depth of Harry's rift with some of his oldest and once upon a time closest friends need look no further than the new series of Clarkson's Farm on Amazon Prime, in which columnist and presenter Jeremy Clarkson at-tempts to run his 1,000-acre Diddly Squat farm in Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire."
He further commented: "Yet who should appear in a recent episode of Clarkson's Farm, but another of Harry's oldest friends! Hugh van Cutsem, referred to simply as 'Hugh' on screen, is seen stalking deer with Clarkson in the Cotswolds countryside - an appearance that would have been unthinkable were he still close to Harry."
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Prince Harry has voiced his feelings about the abandonment by some of his oldest friends following his explosive Oprah Winfrey interview. The Duke of Sussex expressed how his closest companions criticised him for revealing details about the Royal Family to the US talk show host.
In Spare, Prince Harry wrote: "Several close mates and beloved figures in my life, including one of Hugh and Emilie's sons, Emilie herself, and even Tiggy, had chastised me for Oprah, How could you reveal such things? About your family?"
Harry argued that it was no different from his father's authorised biography penned by journalist Jonathan Dimbleby in 1994, which suggested Prince Philip bullied him to tears.
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