Prince Harry Was 'Apoplectic With Rage' Over Cocaine Joke—Book

Prince Harry had "constant battles with the media," sometimes over "minor" infractions, and was "apoplectic with rage" when a comedian made a joke about cocaine, according to a new biography.

William van Cutsem had just been named a godparent of Prince George in October 2013, when Jo Brand appeared on the current affairs show Have I Got News For You.

The comedian said: "George's godparents include Hugh [in fact, William] Van Cutsem… I presume that's a nickname, as in Hugh van cuts 'em and Harry then snorts 'em."

Valentine Low's book Courtiers, published on October 6, states that Harry asked his staff to complain to the BBC.

Low wrote: "Harry was apoplectic with rage and the row took up a lot of office time. His staff even had a meeting with the controller of BBC One, Danny Cohen.

"The BBC refused to apologise, and eventually won the backing of the BBC Trust, who said that viewers were not likely to take the comedy programme seriously."

The situation may not have been helped by the fact that Brand had mistakenly said "Hugh"—and William van Cutsem's father Hugh had died just a month earlier.

Low's book describes how arguments between Harry and the media were commonplace, long before he began dating Meghan Markle.

A palace source told Low: "There were constant battles with the media, and expecting the team to be on your side.

"That was a big part of the relationship with the office, the battles he was fighting all the time... He was always on Twitter. You then had to be on everything, too. Every minor infraction was a big deal."

However, Harry had a lighter side too. One courtier quoted in the book said: "He was fun to work with on tours when he wasn't angry.

"Very creative, very hands-on… he worked hard on tours. He cared about things not being done in a predictable way. He wanted engagements and speeches to be really good. He took every single thing he did, on tours in particular, really seriously… But the need for fights was there the whole time."

The source added: "It was non-stop texting, messaging throughout the night."

The author added: "When he was angry he would go red in the face until he calmed down."

Low, royal correspondent for The Times, of London, was the journalist who broke the story of bullying allegations made against Meghan, by former Kensington Palace communications secretary Jason Knauf.

Knauf sent an email to a superior in October 2018 that accused the Duchess of Sussex of forcing out two staff members and expressed concern for a third.

The email was sent after Harry and Meghan had returned from a tour of Australia and the South Pacific.

Low wrote: "More than once, staff felt they were treated harshly. On the journey from Tonga to Sydney, Sam Cohen was said to have had a particularly torrid time of it, according to one source."

The source was quoted as saying: "Sam had been screamed at before the flight, and during."

Low added: "After that, she warned other staff to stay away from Harry and Meghan for the rest of the day."

According to the book, the next day a staff member said: "It was so horrible to see yesterday."

Low wrote that David Manning, who was on the tour, would say: "You are dealing with a very difficult lady."

After the allegations of bullying emerged publicly in March 2021, a spokesperson for Meghan said: "The duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma.

"She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good."