Senior Royals are likely to be uneasy at Prince Harry’s cocaine confession as it drags up unwelcome memories of drug use within the wider royal family.
Writing in his memoir Spare, which went on sale in Spain earlier than planned, the Duke of Sussex sensationally admitted to having taken cocaine ‘a few times’ during his wilder party years.
In his autobiography, the 38-year-old Royal also confessed to taking cannabis and magic mushrooms, and ended up hallucinating that a bin was talking to him.
Writing in his memoir Spare, which was accidentally published in Spain a week early, the Duke of Sussex sensationally admitted to having taken cocaine ‘a few times’ during his wilder party years (Pictured: Prince Harry on the first day of an official trip to Belize)
In his book, Harry described smoking cigarettes and cannabis and drinking at the Windsor Castle golf course while he was a student at Eton, but he’s not the only member of the family with a history of dabbling with illegal substances.
TOM PARKER BOWLES
In 1999 Camilla’s son, Tom Parker Bowles, was caught giving cocaine to a journalist while working at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
Last year, it emerged that one of Ghisaline Maxwell’s accusers had a hand in setting up the sting.
According to the Telegraph, the woman was paid up to £40,000 to help a tabloid newspaper set up Mr Parker Bowles, son of the Queen Consort, as part of a well-publicized sting in 1999.
Mr Parker Bowles was secretly filmed offering to buy cocaine for the woman, who was used by the tabloid because she knew the food writer at the time.
He also admitted using cocaine himself with ‘someone he found last night’ while working in France.
Mr Parker Bowles, who was 24 at the time and working as a publicist, was caught in the sting while at the Cannes Film Festival and the incident was splashed over five pages of the News of the World.
In contemporary reports, Parker Bowles was described as ‘contrite’ while it was said Prince Charles, who was then a patron of the drugs charity Phoenix House, was ‘fairly cross’ with the 24-year-old and scolded him for having been caught up in the sting.
Pictured: Tom Parker-Bowles, son of Camilla Parker-Bowles, pictured attending a party for the England vs Romania World Cup match
Lord Frederick Windsor
Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Lord Frederick Windsor, also admitted to taking cocaine after being snapped on the floor of a London club, aged 22.
Back in 1999 he was spotted snorting cocaine after succumbing to peer pressure.
Lord Freddie later retold the story and said he regretted it.
Pictured: Lord Freddie Windsor admitted to taking cocaine after being pictured sprawled on a nightclub dancefloor at the age of 22
After the incident Lord Freddie and his younger sister Lady Gabriella Windsor were taken by their mother to a drug rehabilitation centre as teenagers, so they could see the problems caused by addiction.
It was reported at the time that both children were sick after leaving, having been left shocked by the aged state of a 17-year-old addict they met, the Princess said.
Nicolas Knatchbull
Another of Charles’s godchildren, Honourable Nicholas Knatchbull, the great-grandson of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, was Prince William’s mentor at Eton and a frequent holiday companion.
But he became hooked on drugs and his life after school becamse a downward spiral or wild parties, which saw him drop out of Edinburgh University after just six weeks.
A typical evening out would involve drug-taking, nightclubs and often end with him performing dangerous high-speed manoeuvres in the car his father had bought for him.
Initially, he was arrested and cautioned by police for possession of cannabis, but rapidly graduated to crack cocaine, heroin, ketamine — the horse tranquilliser — and MDMA, the key ingredient of ecstasy.
Devastated, his parents tried keeping him under curfew at Broadlands, the Hampshire home where the Queen and Prince Philip spent their honeymoon, but ended up sending him to detox clinics costing up to £10,000 a week in Essex, Surrey, London, South Africa and Arizona.
When he went on the run from The Priory, in Roehampton, South-West London, they had no choice but to have him sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
The Spanish version ‘en la sombre’ translates as ‘in the shadow’ – and customers in Spain have already managed to get copies
As well writing about drugs in his memoir, Prince Harry’s drug use and partying lifestyle has been well documented.
During the Golden Jubilee in 2002, the Duke described being dragged into an office by an anonymous Royal Household staff member after a reporter enquired about his drug-taking habits.
In February 2002 it was also reported that King Charles then the Prince of Wales, sent Harry to visit Featherstone Lodge Rehabilitation Centre in Peckham.
Pictured: Harry and William with their grandmother the Queen during the 2002 Golden Jubilee. The Duke of Sussex (right) was dragged into an office by a member of staff on the day after a journalist enquired about the prince’s drug habits
Pictured: Harry attending the afterparty at China White’s club at Cartier International Day in 2004
His Majesty took the decision after finding out the prince had taken drugs at parties and drunk booze at the Rattlebone Inn, Sherston, Wiltshire.
In 2012, Harry enjoyed a wild weekend in Las Vegas, where he was snapped in just a necklace while a naked girl hid behind him following a game of strip billiards in his VIP suite.
During Dax’s ‘Armchair Expert’ show, the royal was chatting about how people are more likely to run away and rebel after being told ‘you need help’ when the host mentioned the notorious trip, joking: ‘[Or] take your clothes off in Las Vegas’.
Kate is a Patron of an Anti Drugs Charity
At the same time senior royals such as Kate Middleton are at the helm of anti-drugs charities.
Back in October the Princess of Wales released a message of support for those suffering with addiction, urging them to not let shame hold them back from asking for help.
The Princess of Wales, patron of addiction recovery charity The Forward Trust, said addiction is ‘a serious health condition’ and ‘not a choice’.
The Princess of Wales, patron of addiction recovery charity The Forward Trust, said addiction is ‘a serious health condition’ and ‘not a choice’
Her message of support for the Taking Action on Addiction campaign comes in the form of a video on the first day of Addiction Awareness Week.
In the video, Kate, 40, appears to be speaking from home as she is sitting on a couch with framed family photographs visible behind her.
She says: ‘Addiction is a serious mental health condition that can happen to anyone, no matter what age, gender, race or nationality.
‘As patron of The Forward Trust, I have met many people who have suffered from the effects of addiction. Attitudes to addiction are changing.
READ MORE:
Prince Harry reveals he took cocaine a ‘few times’ aged 17 after first being ‘offered a line’ during a hunting weekend but claims it ‘wasn’t very fun’
‘I saw the red mist in William. He wanted me to hit him back, but I chose not to’: Prince Harry tells more about the fight between him and his brother in new ITV trailer… and says his mother Princess Diana would be ‘sad’ about their broken relationship
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk