Prince Harry Is ‘Following’ Princess Diana’s Footsteps in Wanting to Become a U.S. Citizen

A future American? Prince Harry may become a U.S. citizen like Princess Diana always wanted to, a royal expert revealed on Thursday, January 28’s episode of the Royally Obsessed podcast.

Now that Prince Harry, 36, and his wife Meghan Markle, 39, are already living in America, royal expert Rachel Bowie suggests that it may only be a matter of time before the Duke of Sussex tries to become a United States citizen. The couple, who moved to Montecito, California in 2020 with their son Archie, have been increasingly putting down roots in America. While this doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise for Los-Angeles native Meghan Markle, Bowie notes that Prince Harry has become “very invested in American culture, politics, and values.”

Even so, Bowie’s cohost Roberta Fiorito admitted that while the idea of citizenship is “interesting” for Prince Harry, it could be a “stretch.” She noted, “For a long time the US has had a very strong relationship with the UK so I feel like he has grown up watching that.” This relationship could be the nudge he needs to consider citizenship—but there’s another unexpected influence having to do with his mother, Princess Diana, that may inspire him even more.

“Princess Diana talked about moving to New York for so long,” Bowie explained. “She really wanted to be living in the United States and get away from it all. So I would not be surprised, as he is following in Diana’s footsteps more than we thought.”

Speculation about Princess Diana’s plans to move to the United States and become a citizen have circulated for some time now. In November 2019, the Princess of Wales’ former butler, Paul Burrell, revealed that she planned to take her sons Prince Harry and Prince William with her to America one day.

Referring to Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Burrell explained, “They’re not the first royals who have decided to leave the country or to have another home in another country.” According to Burrell, “Diana was also deciding to spend some of her time in America.”

“In fact, the day she died, on her desk were plans of a home in Malibu in California, which she was in the process of purchasing,” he said. “She was going to take William and Harry for three, four weeks every year to America to give them a different culture, to give them a different insight into life.”