Prince Harry accused of upstaging Queen's 'important' COVID-19 message with 'prancing' TV appearance

Prince Harry has been accused of upstaging the Queen and her important message about vaccinations with an "unhelpful", "prancing" television appearance in which the Duke reveals who he believes should play him in a movie and his thoughts on The Crown.

Queen Elizabeth, 94, participated in a video call with health officials on Friday, discussing the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and urging the public to "think about other people" rather than themselves as the pandemic rages on.

The call is the first time the Queen has publicly spoken about the vaccine, which she and Prince Philip received earlier this year, and included a rare comment by the monarch on her own health when she said getting the jab didn't hurt.

With up to 15 percent of Brits said to be hesitant about getting the vaccine, the Queen's statements have been called highly significant and important to the UK's vaccination campaign.

However, Buckingham Palace is now upset that Prince Harry, who last year ditched his royal duties for a life of independence and million-dollar entertainment deals in the US, may have upstaged the monarch with a new television appearance.

Just hours after the Queen's video call, the Duke of Sussex appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden, taking part in a tour of Los Angeles and chatting to Corden about his and wife Meghan Markle's new life of luxury.

During the 17-minute appearance, Harry pitched a new TV show featuring himself, said he believed The Crown was "loosely based on the truth", revealed that he thought Damien Lewis should play him in a movie, complained yet again about the British press and told Corden that the Queen had gifted his son Archie a waffle maker. 

The Duke, who continues to claim he is dedicated to public service, even spent time rapping in front of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air house. 

He was also asked about his and Meghan's decision to leave their royal duties.

"My life is always going to be about public service and Meghan signed up to that and the two of us enjoying doing that, trying to bring some compassion, trying to make people happy and trying to change the world in any small way that we can," he said.

"It was never walking away, it was stepping back rather than stepping down. It was a real difficult environment."

The timing of the television appearance has been described by The Daily Mail sources as "unhelpful" and it's said to have caused "disquiet" in the palace as Prince Philip continues to battle an infection in hospital.

The Duke of Edinburgh got a mention in the "prancing" appearance when Harry - or "Haz" as Meghan calls him - said that his grandfather slams his laptop screen down after Zoom chats rather than pressing the off button. 

Author Robert Jobson, who has written extensively about the royal family, told the Mail that "timing is everything". 

"On the day that the Queen has issued a very, very important message about the whole of the nation getting the jab, that message has sort of been blurred by Harry, the man who wants a private life, talking about his private life again." 

Another commentator, Richard Fitzwilliams, who recently spoke to The AM Show about Prince Philip's hospital visit, asked what 'Haz' was thinking and believed the Duke had made "an idiot of himself". 

"He reveals the Queen gave Archie a waffle maker for Christmas. Waffle is what he does. The script is puerile. It's nauseating to watch, all 17 minutes of it."

Columnist Jan Moir wrote that the Prince's appearance is a clear "profile-raising offensive". It will be followed by an interview with Oprah Winfrey and Meghan in a week. 

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan had officially split from the royal family. Last year, after the pair announced their desire to step back from their duties, a 12-month review of the arrangements was agreed to.

After the Queen said they could not continue to be associated with several charities and establishments, the royal renegades released their own statement, taking a shot at the Queen by saying that service was universal.