Prince Harry (41) has answered a question that has occupied British football fans for months: Who is the country's most famous Harry? The Duke of Sussex appeared on Sunday after the World Cup final on James Corden's show "After Hours" (47) and had to commit to a ranking. The result was not particularly flattering for himself.
Corden and his co-host Rio Ferdinand had sparked the debate at the start of the season. The question was originally raised by striker Harry Kane (32). However, Ferdinand did not place the national team player at the top of his own "Harry" ranking. Pop star Harry Styles (32) was at the top for him, followed by Harry Potter, then Kane, then the Prince.
"Conflict of Interest"
When the Duke was asked to sort it himself, he initially resisted. "There's a conflict of interest here!" he protested. In the end, he gave in and placed singer Styles in first place. His buddy Corden praised the decision. Footballer Kane followed in second place. For third place, Prince Harry let it come down to a tie between himself and wizard Harry Potter. They could settle the matter with a Quidditch match, he joked, which earned him applause in the studio.
Incidentally, the Prince personally knows the first-place winner. At the Royal Variety Performance 2025, he met Styles together with the other members of One Direction.
England and the Trauma of the Semifinal
Things got more serious when it came to the actual reason for the appearance. Asked what England lacked to reach a World Cup final for the first time since winning the title in 1966, Prince Harry pointed to the team's mentality. He referred to the defeat in the semifinal against Argentina, which scored twice in the final phase and in extra time and won 2-1.
The team had been under a kind of shock effect, he explained. After taking the lead, the temptation immediately arose to retreat defensively. That hadn't been planned, it just happened. Against a team of that caliber, a narrow lead cannot be defended for such a long time.
Long-Standing Connection to James Corden
The appearance is part of a long-standing acquaintance. Corden (47) has been part of the Prince's circle of friends for years and was a guest at his wedding to Meghan (44) in 2018. After the couple moved to California in 2020, Harry appeared on the "Late Late Show" in 2021, where the two drove through Hollywood in an open double-decker bus and visited, among other places, the house from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." The Duke was also present during the filming of the show's final episode in April 2023.
