JAMES Corden has revealed that Prince Harry wanted to be on his show for years and even contacted the host to ask if he could appear.
The Duke of Sussex raised eyebrows when he rapped the theme song from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on the Late Late Show in February as he joined the TV star for a double-decker bus tour of Los Angeles.
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Harry, 36, also opened up about quitting royal life in a chat, insisting he and Meghan Markle “never walked away” from the Royal Family.
Now, Corden and executive producer Ben Winston have revealed it was the royal who reached out to them to record An Afternoon With Prince Harry & James Corden – which was dropped without prior promotion.
Speaking on a virtual panel at an FYC event, RuPaul asked Corden how he first met Harry, reports the Hollywood Reporter.
“There was a certain time in London if you went out long enough and ended up drinking long enough, you’d probably bump into Prince Harry once in a while,” he joked.
He added that he has “always been very, very fond of” Harry, and even did 10-minute performance at his 2018 wedding.
The 42-year-old comedian said that ever since, Harry has offered to “do something” on his CBS show multiple times.
Harry then, according to Corden, ultimately reached out after moving to California with Meghan and son Archie.
Producer Ben Winston said: “He said, ‘We’re coming out of lockdown, I’m in LA, do you think we should plan something fun to almost cheer everybody up in a way.
“And then, obviously, as soon as you say something like that to us and our team, our brains go crazy.”
Corden filmed with Harry earlier this year, and during a visit to the house that featured on 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, the Duke rapped the famous Prince of Bel-Air theme song – which was originally performed by Will Smith.
And Corden served him afternoon tea while pointing out celebrity homes, including what he claimed were those of Friends star David Schwimmer and Die Hard actor Bruce Willis.
The pair also chatted about Harry’s family life following his dramatic move to the US last year.
Asked by Corden how he sees his life after lockdown, Harry, 36, said: “My life is always going to be about public service and Meghan signed up to that.”
On the decision to walk away from the royal family, he said it “was never walking away, it was stepping back rather than stepping down”.
Harry said he needed to move his family away but insisted: “I will never walk away, I will always be contributing.
“My life is public service.”
Asked about his early relationship with Meghan, who they video called during the interview, he said: “We got to spend an enormous amount of time just the two of us.
“There were no distractions, and that was great, it was an amazing thing.
“We went from zero to 60 in the first two months.”
Elsewhere in the chat, Harry revealed that “hysterical” son Archie’s first word was “crocodile” and the Queen gave the one-year-old a waffle maker for Christmas.
At the end of the interview, Prince Harry and Corden also competed against each other on an obstacle course.
Meanwhile, Corden has said Harry is still happy and jokey — despite claims that marriage has changed him.
The TV star said he thought Harry was going through a tough time after quitting Royal duties.
But he admitted he had not socialised with the Duke in Los Angeles since he moved to California with wife Meghan last year.
Asked about Harry’s decision to leave the UK, Corden told US radio host Howard Stern: “I cannot imagine any of it is easy.
“But I do not think any person in such a position in his life is easy. I have never really spoken about it to him in depth.”
