Prince Harry's surprise appearance on Strictly 'raised eyebrows' at the palace
The duke popped on to show some supportEver wanted to see Prince Harry on Strictly Come Dancing? Well, if you’d been watching in 2020, you’d have seen the prince make an appearance!
Whilst the duke wasn’t dancing on the hit BBC show, his appearance still reportedly “raised eyebrows” in the palace…
Prince Harry on Strictly Come Dancing
Back in 2020, during the 18th season of Strictly, Prince Harry’s close pal JJ Chalmers was on the show.
JJ is a former Royal Marine who was injured in a bomb blast while serving in Afghanistan. The blast saw him lose two fingers, shattered his right elbow, and left him with facial and torso injuries.
After his recovery, he took part in the inaugural Invictus Games in 2014, where he struck up a friendship with the Duke of Sussex.
In 2020, JJ was paired with Welsh pro dancer Amy Dowden, and they managed to make it all the way to the quarter-finals before being eliminated.
Prior to their exit, during training for a jive, JJ and Amy received a message of support from Prince Harry via video call.
Harry’s message of support
In the video call, Harry explained: “When I first met JJ, he was a shell of himself,” he said.
“But then to see you shine through Invictus and become yourself again, that was the start of an amazing journey,” he then continued.
Speaking to the camera, JJ said that without the Invictus Games, he wouldn’t be here.
“You know that your vision going into the games was to take this cohort of individuals and send them off so they could have an impact on society,” he told the duke.
“You’re definitely having an impact on society now, especially when you’re wearing those tight blue shorts,” the duke joked. He then asked to see JJ’s shoes.
“Look at that! And the socks pulled up! It doesn’t get better than that!” Harry laughed.
Prince Harry’s Strictly Come Dancing appearance raised eyebrows
However, whilst Strictly fans may have been thrilled at Harry’s cameo, it reportedly raised eyebrows at the palace.
This is because at the time of Harry’s appearance, an investigation was being launched into the circumstances surrounding Princess Diana‘s controversial Panorama interview in 1995. Diana agreed to speak to Panorama’s Martin Bashir after he allegedly showed her fake bank statements that led her to believe palace staff were spying on her.
A report later found that the BBC had covered up Bashir’s “deceitful behaviour” and “fell short of high standards of integrity and transparency”.
Speaking to The Times in 2020, a source alleged: “Strictly Come Dancing is one of the BBC’s flagship shows. Given what has been going on around the BBC Diana saga and everything that has come out of the other documentaries, Harry’s timing is a little surprising. Of all the weeks for Harry to record something on the BBC, this wasn’t it.”
However, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex hit back at the time.
“The Duke has known JJ for a long time.
“They’ve been in good touch since Strictly started, and he was keen to show his support for a friend so they recorded something together earlier this week,” they said.
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