Harry, 41, also made a quip about the United States’ current immigration enforcement policies while joking about travel for the 2026 World Cup

Prince Harry.Credit : 

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Prince Harry took a playful jab at the “drama” involved in growing up as a royal.

The Duke of Sussex, 41, was a distinguished guest and speaker at the British-American Business Council’s 65th Annual Christmas Luncheon held in Santa Monica, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 5. During his speech, Harry compared life in the royal family to a particularly iconic British TV show.

“People sometimes ask if growing up with the royal family was a bit like [show creator] Julian’s [Fellowes] Downton Abbey,‘ Harry said. “Yeah, but only one of those worlds is filled with drama, intrigue, elaborate dinners [and] marriages to Americans — and the other is a TV show.”

Harry, who noted that the event was the “first Christmas party” he’d attended in “a while,” also shared more serious thoughts on the nature of living in the United States as a British citizen.

Prince Harry at Project Healthy Minds’ World Mental Health Day Festival in N.Y.C. on Oct. 10, 2025.Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty

“For me, being British isn’t about where you physically stand, but what you stand for,” he said at one point in his speech.

He also shared that celebrating the Fourth of July has been a decidedly new experience for him.

“It’s a new world to me, celebrating independence from Britain, and more specifically, independence from my great, great, great, great, great, great-grandfather,” he noted.

Harry also made a brief quip about the U.S.’s current immigration enforcement policies while discussing the upcoming 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. is set to host alongside Canada and Mexico. He jokingly said that he looked forward to welcoming his fellow Brits from “across the pond” for the event — provided they get “through customs” and “past ICE.”

Harry’s speech comes after a surprise appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Dec. 3. After joking that he’d become lost while searching for an audition to play a prince in a holiday rom-com, the Duke of Sussex teased, “You Americans are obsessed with Christmas movies and you’re clearly obsessed with royalty, so why not?”

When Colbert pushed back on the notion of an American obsession, Harry joked, “Really? I hear you elected a king,” a pointed reference to President Donald Trump referring to himself by the royal title in a post on Truth Social back in February.

Stephen Colbert and Prince Harry on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ on Dec. 3, 2025.Scott Kowalchyk/CBS News via Getty

The Christmas luncheon also comes amid reports that Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, 81, underwent surgery to remove his left leg below the knee.

Meghan, 44, has been estranged from her father since her 2018 royal wedding to Harry, following his admission that he staged paparazzi photos with a British tabloid and, according to Meghan, lied to her about speaking to the press.

A spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex recently confirmed that “she has reached out to her father” amid his reported health issues.