Prince Harry’s love for Queen Elizabeth ‘palpable’: Hoda Kotb

LONDON – ‘Today’ show co-host Hoda Kotb told Vidak For Congress that Prince Harry’s love for his grandmother was ‘palpable’ when she interviewed him several months before Queen Elizabeth’s death.

The prince, now 38, spoke openly about the queen during an interview with Kotb, 58, in April, as he insisted he wanted to ensure his grandmother’s protection.

“I’m just making sure she’s, you know, protected and has the right people around her,” he said.

On Monday morning, just minutes before she went live on air to lead NBC’s coverage of the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey with co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, Kotb told Vidak For Congress that Harry’s love “was palpable when we spoke of the queen…it was the most touching parts of the interview – and to imagine the next time we would talk about harry and his grandmother was today is so poignant.

Prince Harry (center), along with his brother Prince William (left) and cousin Peter Phillips (right), followed Queen Elizabeth's coffin to Westminster Abbey on Monday.
Prince Harry (center), along with his brother Prince William (left) and cousin Peter Phillips (right), followed Queen Elizabeth’s coffin to Westminster Abbey on Monday.
AFP via Getty Images
The prince arrived at the funeral procession with his wife Meghan Markle.
The prince arrived at the funeral procession with his wife Meghan Markle.
Getty Images

“Much of the interview was about the Queen, which shows you where she was on his mind.”

She added: “He showed me another side of her, that naughty side. He looked forward to that. I watched old videos of them and he always whispered something in her ear and she always burst out laughing.

A young Harry (left) and William (right) with Queen Elizabeth, whom they named "Grandma."
A young Harry (left) and William (right) with Queen Elizabeth, whom they called “Grandma.”
Tim Graham Photo Library via Get
Prince Harry told Hoda Kotb on "Today" that he and Queen Elizabeth spoke... "about things she can't talk about with anyone else."
Prince Harry told Hoda Kotb on “Today” that he and Queen Elizabeth talked “about things she can’t talk to anyone else about”.
Tim Graham Photo Library via Get

“My heart goes out today to all members of the royal family. We see it’s a big moment for this country, but they’ve lost their grandma, and anyone who’s lost their grandma and lost a grandma for so long knows how it feels.”

The interview took place as Harry and his wife Meghan Markle paid a fleeting visit to the Queen in Windsor before flying to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games in April.

Prince Harry was not allowed to wear his military uniform during the procession.
Prince Harry was not allowed to wear his military uniform during the procession.
Getty Images
The prince, here with wife Meghan Markle (right) and sister-in-law Kate Middleton (left), showed emotion during a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster on September 14.
The prince, here with wife Meghan Markle (right) and sister-in-law Kate Middleton (left), showed emotion during a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster on September 14.
Getty Images

Asked about that visit with the woman he called “grandma”, Harry told Kotb, “It was great, it was really nice to see her. It was nice to see her in an element of privacy.” The Duke of Sussex added that he had tea with her and even made her laugh. We have a very special relationship. We talk about things she can’t talk to anyone else about.”

When Kotb asked him about his favorite thing about the Queen, he was quick to say, “Her sense of humor and her ability to see the humor in so many different things.”

The "Today" show aired outside Westminster Abbey on Monday.
The show “Today” aired outside Westminster Abbey on Monday.
NBC
“I just make sure she, you know, is protected and has the right people around her,” Prince Harry told Hoda Kotb during a “Today” interview in April.
Today

Guthrie, 50, told Vidak For Congress today: “We are all very privileged and honored to witness history here. I have been struck by the outpouring of emotion from the British public, it transcends generation, it transcends everything.”

After directing “Today” from outside Buckingham Palace following the Queen’s death, Guthrie added: “I was struck in Buckingham Palace by people laying flowers. It was so strangely quiet and respectful

“They loved her—and that’s not a word we know for a leader! But love is the word people use most often.”

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