How Prince Harry and James Corden struck up their royal bromance

There’s feverish excitement about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey next month. However, another TV host has got in there first: James Corden, who took Harry on a tour of LA, and asked him some intimate questions about his family life. Yet their pally segment, which aired on CBS’s Late Late Show last night, is the culmination of a long, perhaps unlikely bromance.

Corden and his wife Julia Carey attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding back in 2018. On his show, Corden said he’d had “quite the weekend”, describing it “as one of the most beautiful ceremonies I’ve ever been to. It was gorgeous, the whole affair, it was happy and it was joyous. It was uplifting.”

He shared a picture of himself during the ceremony looking glum, quipping “In my defense, what face do you make whilst you’re watching a cellist in a church?”, and revealed that he’d almost interrupted the ceremony when he had a sneezing fit caused by an allergic reaction to all the flowers. But, he added, it was “Britain at its finest.”

In fact, Corden didn’t just attend the church wedding - he emceed the private reception afterwards at Frogmore House. Speaking to People, Corden described it as catering to about 185 people, “a smaller dinner, close friends and family. And Harry asked if I would do a performance of some kind.” Did he really dress up as Henry VIII, as part of a joke about not knowing what to wear to a royal wedding? Corden said he did indeed don a Tudor outfit, and admitted he does look “a bit like Henry VIII.”

The Mirror also reports a source saying that Corden “compered a dance-off between Harry, Charles and William” at the event. “Everyone was laughing because it’s something no one expected. Meghan and her mum also joined in. Then everyone danced, which really kicked off the party.”

While many big names were at the wedding (including Oprah), it’s a sign of the close relationship between Corden and Harry that he had a starring role at the intimate reception - which excluded many of the wedding guests. On his show, Corden said they’d been friends for seven years, meaning their bond was formed in 2011, 20 years ago now.

The pair are fairly close in age - Harry is 36, Corden 42 - and at a similar point in their family lives: both married, both fathers (Corden has three children: Carey, Charlotte and Max). Harry and Meghan moved to LA last year and now reside in Montecito, so they’re close to Corden’s home in Brentwood.

They will no doubt look to the British actor-turned-Hollywood star for professional advice, too, as they embark on their Netflix projects. The royal couple signed a multiyear deal with the streamer to make documentaries, docu-series, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programming. Corden’s American contacts and ability to promote such projects on his talk show will certainly come in handy.

In fact, he’s already helped boost their work. When the Sussexes launched their new podcast with a “holiday special” edition, Corden was among the high-profile guests. Now, he’s given Harry a flattering late-night American TV debut with an open-top tour bus ride around LA.

Their closeness was established from the start, Corden greeting him with a casual “Hey!” instead of with any formality or deference. He teed up Harry for a gag about not paying the bus fare because royals “don’t carry cash”, and Harry was a good sport when Corden introduced some slapstick with a tea trolley crashing around on the moving bus (putting to an end Harry’s suggestion that he could have his own “English tea on the 405” segment). It had the feeling of a lowkey lads outing - fitting with the new Hollywood-but-relatable Sussex brand.

It’s clearly had the intended effect on viewers. Gushing comments on the YouTube video include “This isn’t James talking to a special guest, this is like a friend reunion”, “I love how Prince Harry was comfortable and expressed his concerns, issues and what not, in a natural way”, “Harry seems like a great guy. I hope that he and his wife do well in California”, “I’ve never seen Harry out and about like a casual outing with a friend. He’s so down to earth and just goes with the flow”, and, in a Princess Diana riff, “People’s Prince, Respectful, funny, supportive and BEING HIMSELF.”

While this wasn’t the full-on Carpool Karaoke that some predicted, Corden did entice Harry into performing a quick burst of the rap from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, as they visited the house where it was filmed. (On this sliver of evidence, Harry was wise not to make this a musical edition.) The pair also FaceTimed with Meghan: she called Harry “Haz”, and Corden cheekily called her “love”.

Banter aside, Corden skilfully leveraged this friendship to ask Harry some very personal questions - and to do so in a chummy, non-threatening way. Though clearly well prepared (and, presumably, approved by Harry’s team beforehand), their chat unfolded in a natural way, with Harry opening up about his family life and making a sympathetic case for his recent decisions.

Harry chatted about knowing Meghan was the one, because they were “so comfortable in each other’s company.” He explained how royal dating means everything is reversed: you do the first few dates in private, just the two of you, before you can go out publicly.

Harry also described their current quiet nights in: getting their son Archie to bed, then “Meg” cooking a meal, or ordering a takeaway, before settling down to watch Jeopardy or something on Netflix. He said that Archie is “hysterical”, and is already putting some words together (“crocodile” was his first) and singing songs. Perhaps the most surreal detail is that The Queen sent them a waffle maker for Christmas. He also noted that he Zooms with both his grandparents – The Queen and Prince Philip.

Harry even gave his view on The Crown, saying he preferred it to stories written about them in the press, since the series doesn’t “pretend to be news. It’s fictional but it’s loosely based on the truth.” He added that it’s not “strictly accurate”, but does give you an idea about “the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else.”

And who would Harry love to play him next? Damien Lewis, apparently. Corden put himself forward to play Prince William, which was met - jokingly - with a marked lack of enthusiasm.

As for his future LA life, Harry described it as “a slightly different version but a continuation of what we were doing in the UK anyway”, with an emphasis on public service and “compassion”. It’s not walking away, he argues, but stepping back from “a really difficult environment”, with attacks from the press affecting his mental health. So he did “what any husband and father would do.”

That openness about mental health signals the kind of advocacy work that Harry and Meghan could do as part of their Netflix deal, tapping into their own experiences.

The segment finished with Corden treating Harry to a military-style obstacle course. Both acquitted themselves well - particularly the former army officer - with Harry alternately teasing and encouraging Corden around the course.

It’s a hint, perhaps, that Harry - founder of the Invictus Games - will look to continue his work with the armed forces and veterans in some capacity. If he can’t do so as part of the Royal family, he may well be able to put out dedicated programmes instead, supported and promoted by his old pal Corden.

The Late Late Show with James Corden, featuring Prince Harry airs tonight on Sky Comedy at 9pm