The Queen has issued an official statement of support for Prince Charles’s actions after his teenage son admitted to drinking and smoking cannabis. The monarch expressed her views on the matter yesterday after the weekend revelation that Charles had sent 17-year-old Prince Harry to visit a rehab centre last summer.
“The Queen shares the Prince of Wales’s views on the seriousness of Prince Harry’s behaviour and supports the action which has been taken,” read the message released by Buckingham Palace. “She hopes the matter can now be considered as closed.”
The Queen’s statement is considered an unusual move, as she rarely comments publicly on such intimate family issues.
Prince Charles has received widespread admiration for his care and discretion in the handling of the delicate situation. Prime Minister Tony Blair came forward with his support for the Prince of Wales, calling the single father’s actions “sensitive” and “responsible”.
“The way that Prince Charles and the royal family have handled it is absolutely right,” Mr Blair told BBC1’s Breakfast With Frost. “They have done it in a very responsible and very sensitive way.”
In the wake of press reports that Prince Harry had problems with drug and alcohol abuse, St James’s Palace acknowledged that over a two-month period last summer, Prince Harry “experimented on several occasions” with cannabis and had been drinking. The 17-year-old prince was immediately confronted by his father after a Highgrove staff member reported suspicions about Harry’s drug use.
One royal employee said, “Prince Charles did not scream and shout at Harry, but he did gently question him, asking: ‘Are these really the right sort of people to be hanging around with? Are these the right things for you to be doing at 16 in your position?’”
Charles reportedly asked Prince William to encourage his younger brother to attend Featherstone Lodge rehabilitation centre for a day to see the consequences of drug abuse. “Prince Harry came for a couple of hours on a day in late summer and talked to several people in recovery,” confirmed Bill Puddicombe, chief executive of the organisation which runs the clinic. “I spoke to Prince Charles in November and was pleased to hear that Harry had enjoyed his visit and learned a lot.”
St James's Palace insists the issue has been resolved and Prince Harry has decided that he no longer has any wish to continue “experimentation”. Said a palace spokesperson: “This is a serious matter which was resolved within the family, and is now in the past and closed.”
For a full analysis of this story by our royal correspondent Judy Wade, see next week's HELLO! magazine.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
