The Duke of Sussex could be reunited in New York today with the American journalist who claimed he “stank of cigarettes” and “oozed booze from every pore”.
Prince Harry, 40, will attend a panel discussion on global issues, titled Everything Everywhere All At Once, at the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting.
In addition to Bill Clinton, his daughter Chelsea and Matt Damon, Harry will also be present with American journalist Katie Couric, who already delivered a scathing verdict on the British royals in her 2021 memoir.
In ‘Going There’, Katie described how Harry, then 27, smelled of cigarettes and alcohol when they met for a job interview in Brazil in 2012.
According to the Clinton Global Initiative, they may cross paths today to discuss “long-standing international development issues,” including “climate change, rising inequality, and natural and man-made disasters.”
The Duke of Sussex (pictured yesterday) could cross paths in New York today with the American journalist who claimed in her memoirs that he reeked of cigarettes and ‘oozed booze from every pore’
Katie will join Harry at the event, after explaining in her 2021 memoir how she previously met him at a polo match in Brazil, during his ‘wild oats sowing phase’ – two months before his infamous trip to Las Vegas, where he played ‘strip pool’ naked in his hotel room.
The American journalist, who met the prince for a special programme on Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, recalled that the smell of cigarettes and alcohol seemed to seep “from every pore” of his body.
Katie also took a swipe at the Duke of York in Going There, recalling the infamous 2010 dinner at Jeffery Epstein’s home, which Andrew attended.
Couric wrote: “I couldn’t imagine what Epstein and Andrew were up to other than trying to make friends in the media.”
She described Epstein’s New York mansion as “Eyes Wide Shut with a twist – creepy chandeliers and body parts art.”
According to Katie, guests ate lasagna from shallow bowls and Epstein held court in front of the fireplace for celebrities including Chelsea Handler, Woody Allen, Soon-Yi Previn, George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Rose.
On the way home, Katie’s ex-boyfriend Brooks Perlin noticed how young the women were who took their coats.
In her 2012 interview with Harry on ABC, Couric said the prince was “known for his cheeky sense of humor and his love of a party.”
Katie claimed in her new memoir that Prince Harry reeked of booze and cigarettes when she interviewed him in Belize in 2012 (pictured)
The American journalist will discuss global issues today during a panel discussion in New York, together with several public figures and world leaders
She added: ‘But we got to see the warm and personal side of him when we talked about what his grandmother means to him.’
“When we were young, it was very easy to take our grandmother for granted,” Harry told Couric. “She was just a grandmother to us, and it’s only in the last five, eight, 10 years that I’ve come to understand how great she is.”
He also discussed his desire for a family, saying, “I’ve been wanting children since I was very, very young. I’m waiting to find the right person and someone who is willing to take on the task.”
This comes after Prince Harry said in an emotional speech on Monday that he takes “carrying on Diana’s legacy very seriously”.
The Duke of Sussex, who recently celebrated his 40th birthday, delivered an impassioned speech to a packed audience at the Halo Trust’s anti-landmine event in New York.
The charity gained international fame in 1997 after Princess Diana walked through an active minefield in Angola.
Harry was greeted with thunderous applause as he took to the stage for an eight-minute speech, in which he said the charity’s work in Angola meant “a great deal” to his late mother.
With a serious face, he said, “Carrying on her legacy is a responsibility that I take incredibly seriously.
In her memoir Going There, Katie criticized Prince Harry and discussed the Duke of York’s relationship with convicted pedophile Jefferey Epstein
“And I think we all know how much she would like us to finish this particular job. We’re all here because we’re a group of true believers, fighting for a mine-free world.”
Wearing a navy suit with a Halo Trust pin on his lapel, he recalled following in his mother’s footsteps when he visited Angola in 2019, 22 years after Diana walked through the minefields in the African country.
Harry spoke about the many changes he had experienced since his visit five years ago, including becoming a father for the second time and the birth of daughter Lilibet in 2021.
And he said you don’t have to have children to have a “stake in the future of our planet”, but the Duke said his mother would have been “horrified” if she had known someone’s children or grandchildren were living in a world that was still “full of mines”.
In a nod to Diana, he called for “getting the job done”: “Let’s wake up tomorrow and get back to work, let’s renew our commitments and get the job done, for all of us.”
‘So that we too can look back with awe and relief and so that those who began this recovery and reconstruction many years ago can trust that we have really done the job.’
Earlier today, Harry appeared on stage in New York to talk about mental health and climate change with two young winners of an award given in memory of Princess Diana.
Pictured: Duchess of Sussex and journalist Katie Couric during a panel at the South By Southwest Conference and Festival at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, U.S., March 2024
The Duke said his late mother would be “proud” of them if he attended the 14th Concordia Annual Summit in support of the Diana Award during his eight-day solo trip to the East Coast and the UK.
Harry, who cracked his knuckles and looked nervous as he took his seat on stage, spoke about the importance of mental wellbeing at an event where attendees discussed their climate anxiety.
He personally interviewed Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang from Indonesia and Christina Williams from Jamaica, who were receiving the Legacy Award in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. He joked: ‘For some reason I was given the microphone to ask the questions’.
He told them, “I applaud you for having the confidence to stand on this stage. I know my mother would be incredibly proud of you. Your activism is true to how my mother lived her life.”
Harry, dressed in a navy suit and tie and wearing a Diana Award pin on his lapel, asked: “Do you feel that leaders and people in positions of power listen to you?” He added that he wanted the Diana Award to help their campaign to tackle climate change and to gain global influence.
And when asked what gives him hope for the future, he said, “I said it years ago and I’ll say it again. The younger generation gives me hope. The courage that you have gives me hope. Every single one of us needs courage to turn the dial in this world, probably more than ever. We need to listen and act on what you say because it’s your future that’s going to be stolen and that’s unacceptable.”
His decision to fly to New York alone to meet royals and celebrities before heading to Britain on his own shows he is determined to ‘create new opportunities’ and ‘assert himself’ after his 40th birthday, experts told MailOnline yesterday.
The Duke will be away from Montecito for the next eight days and attended a benefit in California hosted by Kevin Costner on Saturday without his American wife.
Harry has always been keen to continue his mother’s ‘unfinished’ work, revealing in 2022 that he felt ‘obligated’ to live up to her legacy ‘as much as possible’.
In a podcast interview, Harry told former rugby player Gareth Thomas: ‘I think once you meet people and you see the suffering in the world, you can’t walk away, and I certainly can’t, you can’t turn your back on it.
‘If you also consider that my mother’s work was not yet finished, I feel obliged to continue that work as much as possible.’
He added: ‘I could never be in her shoes, certainly not in this particular area, because of what she did, what she stood for and how openly she spoke about this subject.’
Harry’s presence led to speculation that he may have been in the city at the same time as his brother Prince William, who is believed to be attending the third annual Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit at The Plaza Hotel on September 24.
It is not certain whether he will attend, but he was present at the same event last year.
Should Prince William come to New York while Harry is there, it is likely the brothers will avoid each other. A source told The Sunday Times in August that the brothers had not spoken for “two years.”
It was said that the last time they spoke was at the funeral of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, in September 2022.
The insider described the “estrangement” as “terribly sad,” adding that Prince William doesn’t want Harry at all at his coronation once it happens.