Prince Harry‘s bold actions during a surprise appearance on US television hinted at his true feelings, according to an expert.
The Duke of Sussex was filmed screaming as he navigated a haunted maze with Jimmy Fallon on his late-night chat show, following a week of high-profile appearances in New York. Instead of participating in a typical interview with host Fallon, Harry chose to be the first surprise guest to try out a Halloween experience named Jimmy Fallon’s Tonightmares at the Rockefeller Centre in the Big Apple.
The segment, which aired on US network NBC, saw expletives bleeped out as Harry, equipped with a chest-mounted camera, seemed jumpy while exploring the maze.
When questioned if he scares easily, Harry responded: “Not normally, but today might be different,” before appearing startled by a panda in costume. In a humorous moment, the duke likened a spooky figure in a suit to a well-known Canadian singer.
“Is that Michael Buble? Good job buddy,” Harry quipped.
At the conclusion of the experience, Harry feigned a punch after being scared while posing for a photo with Fallon. Body language expert Judi James suggested that throughout the skit, Harry is “totally and utterly in his element as a performer doing comedy to camera”.
She told the Mirror.: “There’s nothing in his body language that hints ’embarrassed royal’ or even ‘show guest’ as he joins in with the kind of keenness that suggests he’d love to host a show of his own.”
“He leaps straight in on Fallon here, placing an arm around Fallon’s shoulders to register dominance plus the fact that he intends to take the lead and control the jokes rather than being the butt of them. He places his hands on his hips in a confident splay ritual and he even looks straight into the camera in a way mere guests don’t usually do.
“Harry’s reaction shots are created to guarantee laughs that are not at his expense, but which show he’s playing along happily with little in the way of inhibitions showing. His screeching and shouting are epic and he even holds Fallon’s hand as they walk through the maze. Harry will be even more delighted to see he also gets the key comedy punchline when he compares one ghoul to Michael Buble, who also happens to be a friend.”
His appearance on the TV show comes after he carried out days of engagements on an East Coast trip without wife Meghan Markle during UN General Assembly High-Level Week and Climate Week.
He appeared as a star guest in the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on Tuesday, where he delivered a passionate speech calling for action to tackle the “pervasive threat” the online world poses for children.
His appearance on the TV show also comes in the week a US judge ruled his US visa application should remain private despite him admitting taking drugs in his memoir. Harry is set to briefly return to the UK to attend the WellChild annual awards next Monday.