Prince Harry’s long-time friend James Haskell has described the royal family as ‘very dysfunctional’, adding that he believes ‘some are not as great as others’.
The former England rugby player, who attended Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018, also revealed a joke he once made about Prince Andrew sweating.
Haskell attended the ceremony at Windsor Castle with his then-wife Chloe Madeley, before they split in October 2023 after ten years together and five years of marriage.
In an extensive interview with The Times magazinehe revealed that his relationship with the TV presenter ‘wasn’t working out’, adding: ‘It was never my intention to break up and we tried very hard to make sure that didn’t happen. Chloe is absolutely brilliant.”
Haskell also told how he was expelled 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 as the Duke lashed out at his family after quitting as a senior royal in 2020. Haskell met him at his friend and fellow former England rugby star Mike Tindall’s wedding to Zara Philips in 2011.
Haskell said: “I have spent time with the royals. Some aren’t as great as others. They do a great job, but they are also a modern family that is very dysfunctional.
‘I went to Harry and Meghan (and) Mike and Zara’s wedding. For those who want to get rid of the monarchy, once they’re gone, they’re gone. There is no going back, so remember that they play 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 ten years together and five years of marriage.
He added that he once told a joke “about when I was at Tindall’s wedding” in which he said: “Prince Andrew was sweating up a storm on the dance floor, but then he realized everyone was over 18, so he left . It was inappropriate, but funny.”
This referred to the Duke of York denying a sexual relationship with Virginia Giuffre, who she said started sweating while they danced at London’s Tramp nightclub.
Andrew actually labeled this incorrect during his BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, saying he had a medical condition at the time that prevented him from sweating – a claim that was widely criticized at the time.
Haskell – who appeared in the 19th series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2019 – too 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 expelled from Wellington College in Crowthorne, Berkshire, for filming Paul Doran-Jones – who also later became a rugby player for England and Wasps – having sex with a naked sixth former.
Haskell said: ‘I was expelled from Wellington College not because I was rebellious, but because I was stupid. My friend slept with a girl. He asked me if I had a camera. I said, ‘Yes.’
‘We put it in a cupboard. That was clearly wrong. One of our classmates sold the story and we were on the front pages.”
James Haskell and Prince Harry in special rugby shirts to announce 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 talked about it often 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 conversation 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, they obviously have a wicked sense of humour, especially in this country we obviously put people on a pedestal, but they are an ordinary family, an incredible family, they do they Much for this country, but an ordinary family.’
It also recently emerged that Haskell had branded Omid Scobie – author of Harry and Meghan’s vibrant biography Finding Freedom – as a ‘very strange guy’ in a book he co-wrote with Tindall.
In The Good, the Bad & the Rugby – Unleashed, released in October, Haskell also wrote ‘royal fans can be mental’, adding that ‘we all know American royal fans are bloody crazy, especially Scobieites’.
In December last year, Haskell said he and Harry often compare notes on parenting and even defended his friend’s decision to publish his book Spare.
“If someone feels like they and their partner have been oppressed, lied to, contradicted and cornered, I think it’s really 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) present 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 and having fun, but Prince Harry. He hadn’t met her (Meghan) yet, so he was still quite nice.”
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 comment was received with cheers and 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, and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
And on stage in Bath, Haskell mocked Tindall for his perceived respect for his in-laws.
“I don’t know how to say this, but Tinds is a real brown nose around the royal family,” he stated. “He took the brown nose to a new level.
‘They called him ‘Solesy’ in the palace because the only thing you see hanging from the back of them are the soles of his feet.
‘And he’s also known as a bit of a cuckoo because since he joined he’s had Harry out and also (Prince) Andrew (out of the family). He is one major plane crash away from becoming king.”
As the audience laughed, Haskell joked, “He keeps trying to book their trips. Charles will ask him, ‘Do we really have to fly to Afghanistan? And all together? And on Ryanair?”
Haskell also had a tongue-in-cheek comment on the service they received at Windsor Castle. ‘The tea we received came in chipped, mismatched mugs with cheap slogans on them.
Haskell was expelled 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 as a student at Wellington College, spoke about his suspension
”Best dad in the world”, ‘I hate my brother’. One with Prince Andrew on it, someone had crossed out the photo and written ‘K***head’ on it.”
At the time of Harry and Meghan’s wedding, Wasps defended Haskell after World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio criticized his absence due to a defeat to Saracens to attend the event.
Haskell was ruled out of the match due to a foot injury and was allowed to attend the wedding by director of rugby Dai Young.
But Dallaglio felt the loyalty should have been with his club, telling BT Sport: ‘It would actually be bad form, wouldn’t it? He should be here with his teammates. I’m sure Harry won’t mind, he loves rugby anyway.’
However, Young jumped to Haskell’s defense by insisting he attended the event with his blessing.
‘I think Lawrence wanted an invitation himself! It was my decision,” Young said. ‘James has a nasty foot injury and probably won’t be doing anything for a few more weeks. The royal wedding is a unique opportunity.
‘I don’t think he did anything wrong. He has supported the players as much as possible and he should not receive too much criticism.’