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Prince Harry’s loyal friend James Haskell has described the Royal Family as ‘very dysfunctional’, adding that he believes ‘some aren’t as great as others’.
The former England rugby union player, who attended Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018, also revealed a joke he once made about Prince Andrew sweating.
Haskell went to the ceremony at Windsor Castle with his then-wife Chloe Madeley, before they split in October 2023 after a decade together and five years of marriage.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Times Magazine, he revealed his relationship with the TV presenter was ‘not working’, adding: ‘I never intended to get separated and we tried very hard to ensure that didn’t happen. Chloe is utterly brilliant.’
Haskell also spoke about how he was suspended from Wellington College in 2003 after making a secret sex tape of his best friend having sex with his girlfriend.
The 39-year-old former Wasps star has stood by Harry while the Duke has hit out at his family after quitting as a senior royal in 2020. Haskell met him at the wedding of his friend and fellow former England rugby star Mike Tindall to Zara Phillips in 2011.
Haskell said: ‘I’ve spent time with the royals. Some aren’t as great as others. They do amazing work – but they’re also a modern family that’s very dysfunctional.
‘I went to Harry and Meghan’s wedding (and) Mike and Zara’s wedding. To those who want to get rid of the monarchy – once they’re gone, they’re gone. There’s no way back from that, so remember that they serve an important role. I love what they do.’
James Haskell and Chloe Madeley at Harry and Meghan’s wedding at Windsor Castle in 2018
Prince Harry speaks with James Haskell during a visit to Twickenham Stadium in February 2017
Haskell attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding with his then-wife Chloe Madeley, before they split in October 2023 after a decade together and five years of marriage.
He added that he once told a joke ‘about when I was at Tindall’s wedding’, saying: ‘Prince Andrew was sweating up a storm on the dancefloor, but then he realised that everyone was over 18 so he left. It was inappropriate, but it was funny.’
This was in reference to the Duke of York denying a sexual liaison with Virginia Giuffre which she said began with him sweating heavily as they danced at London nightclub Tramp.
Andrew branded this factually wrong during his BBC Newsnight interview in 2019 because he said he had a medical condition at the time which meant he did not sweat – a claim which was widely lampooned at the time.
Haskell – who appeared in the 19th series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2019 – also told The Times about when he made a secret sex tape of his best friend having sex with his 17-year-old girlfriend at his school in 2003.
He was suspended from Wellington College in Crowthorne, Berkshire, for filming Paul Doran-Jones – who also later became a rugby union player for England and Wasps – having sex with a naked sixth former.
Haskell said: ‘I was suspended from Wellington College, not because I was rebellious, but because I was stupid. My friend was sleeping with a girl. He asked me if I had a camera. I said, ‘Yeah.’
‘We set it up in a cupboard. Obviously, that was wrong. One of our classmates sold the story and then we were on the front pages.’
James Haskell and Prince Harry in special rugby shirts to publicise the Invictus Games in 2014
Prince Harry jokes with James Haskell during a visit to Twickenham Stadium in February 2018
Haskell and Doran-Jones showed the video to their friends and were both suspended – along with the girl in the tape, for breaking the ‘no sex’ rule on campus.
As for the Royal Family, Haskell has often spoken about them in previous interviews.
Earlier this month he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that the Prince and Princess of Wales have ‘a wicked sense of humour’.
Haskell and Tindall were on the show to discuss their sit down with Prince William and Kate Middleton for their podcast The Good, the Bad & the Rugby in September 2023.
Haskell said: ‘That podcast was brilliant because we see them at their best, obviously they have a wicked sense of humour, in this country in particularly we obviously put people on a pedestal, but they are a regular family, an incredible family they do a lot for this country but a regular family.’
It also recently emerged that Haskell had branded Omid Scobie – author of Harry and Meghan’s gushing biography Finding Freedom – a ‘very odd bloke’ in a book co-written with Tindall.
In The Good, the Bad & the Rugby – Unleashed, which came out in October, Haskell also wrote ‘royal fans can be mental’, adding that ‘we all know that American royal fans are f***ing nuts, especially Scobieites’.
In December last year, Haskell said that he and Harry often compare notes on parenting and even defended his friend’s decision to publish his book, Spare.
‘When someone feels like they and their partner have been oppressed, lied about, contradicted and put into a corner, I think it’s very important [to speak out],’ he said.
James Haskell made a joke about Prince Andrew (pictured at Windsor Castle in February)
Mike Tindall and James Haskell (pictured in September) host The Good, the Bad & the Rugby
Referring to how he met Harry at Tindall’s wedding, Haskell also said: ‘Who should be there, wandering around having a good time, but Prince Harry. He hadn’t met her [Meghan] yet, so he was still quite fun.’
Haskell made the comment on stage at Bath Forum, in Somerset, for the World Cup Afterparty: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – a live version of their popular rugby podcast. His remark was met with cheers and also applause from the audience.
In October last year, Haskell and Tindall recorded a special World Cup edition of their podcast at Windsor Castle with Tindall’s mother-in-law, Princess Anne, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales.
And, on stage in Bath, Haskell mocked Tindall for his alleged deference to his in-laws.
‘I don’t know how to say this but Tinds is a proper brown-nose around the royals,’ he declared. ‘He’s taken brown-nosing to a new level.
‘They called him ‘Solesy’ at the palace because the only thing you see hanging out of their backsides are the soles of his feet.
‘And he’s also known as a bit of a cuckoo because since he joined up he’s had Harry out and he’s had [Prince] Andrew out [of the family] as well. He’s one big plane crash away from being King.’
With the audience laughing, Haskell joked: ‘He keeps trying to book their travel. Charles will be asking him, ‘Do we really have to fly to Afghanistan? And all together? And on Ryanair?”
Haskell also had a tongue-in-cheek pop at the service they received at Windsor Castle. ‘The tea we were served came in chipped mismatching mugs with cheesy slogans on.
Haskell was suspended from Wellington College in 2003 for filming Paul Doran-Jones having sex with a naked sixth former. They are pictured together for England at Twickenham in 2019
Haskell, pictured when he was a student at Wellington College, spoke about his suspension
”Best dad in the world’, ‘I hate my brother’. One with Prince Andrew on, someone had crossed out the picture, and written ‘K***head’ on it.’
At the time of Harry and Meghan’s wedding, Wasps defended Haskell after World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio criticised his absence from a defeat against Saracens in order to attend the event.
Haskell was ruled out of the game due to a foot injury and was given permission by director of rugby Dai Young to attend the wedding.
But Dallaglio felt the loyalty should have been to his club, telling BT Sport: ‘It would be poor form really, wouldn’t it? He should be here with his team-mates. I’m sure Harry wouldn’t mind, he loves his rugby anyway.’
However, Young leapt to Haskell’s defence by insisting he attended the event with his blessing.
‘I think Lawrence wanted an invite himself! It was my decision,’ Young said. ‘James has a nasty foot injury and is probably another couple of weeks away from doing anything. The royal wedding is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
‘I don’t think he’s done anything wrong. He’s supported the players as much as he can and he shouldn’t be criticised too much.’
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