The late Queen’s ex-press secretary, Ailsa Anderson, has detailed how Prince Harry ‘changed’ since she last worked with him in 2013, saying he once was a ‘media darling’

Queen Elizabeth ‘s former press secretary has detailed how Prince Harry ” completely changed ” since she last worked with him in 2013.

Ailsa Anderson said she was surprised when the Duke of Sussex decided to step down as a senior royal in 2020 as he was once a “media darling” who could not “put a foot wrong”. Opening up about her time working for the Royal Family during an interview with Times Radio, Ms Anderson said: “The Harry that I knew – and I left and obviously that was before he got married, so 2013 – but he was the media’s darling.

“I remember at the start he could not put a foot wrong, he was just this war hero, he’d served, he was committed, he had the Invictus Games He really couldn’t put a step wrong.”

Prince Harry

The Queen’s former aide said that in private, Harry was “charming, funny, interesting”, so after he decided to leave royal duties she was “surprised” and “saddened” as she added: “You will remember all three of them together doing stuff like Heads Together for Mental Health and it just felt like a really amazing team.

“They were very joined up and offering support to each other. So when that doesn’t happen suddenly, it’s what happens in any family not just the Royal Family, it’s a loss isn’t it? It’s a bereavement.”

Since relocating to the US with Meghan Markle, Harry has been living in California with his wife and two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The Sussexes have embarked on various business ventures in the past few years, the most recent being Meghan’s lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard.

Ms Anderson’s comments come as Prince Harry gave a passionate speech to present Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks, who he described as a “friend” and a “beacon of inspiration”, with a special award. Sergeant Banks joined the US Army in 2008 aged 17 and suffered bilateral hip injuries while deployed in Iraq two years later. Now 33, she is a four-time Invictus Games gold medalist and five-time Paralympic medalist.

In a video filmed outside his Montecito home, Harry said: “I first met Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks at the Invictus Games in Orlando 2016, where I presented her with not one, but four gold medals that she’d won in swimming. To me, she epitomises the courage, resilience and determination represented across our service community. And this is not just because of her swimming abilities.”

He continued: “Ellie has courageously overcome every obstacle to cross her path. She has turned her pain into purpose and led through compassion and willpower, showing others that the impossible is indeed possible. Despite the injuries she endured during her deployment as a medical assistant in Iraq – along with numerous surgeries and setbacks that would have deterred many – she has persevered tirelessly, becoming the first woman in the Army’s world-class athlete program as well as the first swimmer the program had ever seen.

“She’s also taken her recovery a step further, using her experiences and achievements to inspire and assist others in their mental and physical journey into sport, ensuring those who can’t see a way out or through are introduced to the medicine of sport that saved her too.”