Queen's cousin contradicts Prince Harry's claims about being trapped in royal life

In his book "A Royal Life," Prince Edward, Duke of Kent spoke about his loyalty to the Firm. He also shared that being a royal never felt like he was trapped in it, contrary to what Prince Harry said in his Oprah interview last year.

The 86-year-old is the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, being that he is the son of her uncle, Prince George. In the prologue of his memoir, he made a vague reference to the Duke of Sussex's statement during his Oprah interview in 2021 about the restrictions that come with being a royal.

Prince Harry had said, "I was trapped, but I didn't know I was trapped. Trapped within the system, like the rest of my family are. My father and my brother, they are trapped. They don't get to leave."

The Duke of Kent wrote as quoted by Newsweek, "I never felt I was locked into a system that was operating against me, or restricting me unduly." He added, "I always felt I wanted to support [the queen]. That's by far the most important thing in life."

His statement is in response to what his co-author, Hugo Vickers, shared about working with the British royals. He shared his theory that "working within the royal family is the right way to operate as a supportive member of the royal family."

He believes that "the system is easy to work with, and the queen is the person you are helping in a general sense, and you can also do other things for the general good that interest you." He then referenced the late Prince Philip, who served as the longest consort for Queen Elizabeth II. Vickers said the Duke of Edinburgh "worked out whenever he was needed and when he wasn't he explored many different enterprises."

It is said that the Duke of Kent used to be next-door neighbours with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle when the couple lived at Nottingham Cottage. He and his wife the Duchess of Kent were among the guests at the Royal Wedding in May 2018. As for "A Royal Life," it is believed to be discreet without explosive revelations about the royal family that are rumoured to be in Prince Harry's upcoming memoir.