Prince Harry Could Become America's 'First Gentleman'—Biographer
Prince Harry could have a prominent position in American politics if Meghan Markle's speculated political ambitions see her take the White House, according to a new royal biography.
The couple moved to the U.S. in 2020, leaving the British monarchy under a cloud of family tensions, bombshell allegations and lawsuits against the tabloid media. Harry and Meghan's future has since been widely speculated on by experts, commentators and social-media users.
The couple have made progress in pursuing content-creation deals through their audio and visual production companies with partners such as Spotify and Netflix. However, a persistent rumor circulates that, one day, Meghan in particular could wish to enter the political sphere.
Neither the duchess nor her team has ever confirmed or made any statement to this effect. The couple urged voters to register ahead of the 2020 election and Meghan lobbied senators to make progress with paid paternal leave. This has raised debate over whether President Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, could ever be a reality.
Author Nigel Cawthorne has discussed where such a possible outcome would leave Meghan's husband, in an upcoming book Windsor Spares: The Prince Harry and Prince Andrew Soap Opera!
"Meghan is said by some to be lining herself up to be the first woman president," Cawthorne wrote. "In the U.S., [Harry] could at least be 'First Gentleman.'"
There is no precedent in the United States on what to call the male spouse of a sitting president, nor any defined role. The term "first gentleman" is in use when applied to the spouse of a head of a state government. The closest the country has come to having a presidential "first gentleman" was in 2016, when former first lady Hilary Clinton made a bid for the presidency.
Speaking at the time of the election, which Clinton lost to Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton said he would be willing to take on some of the traditional roles of the country's former first ladies, such as "some of the more social work."
"If I were asked to do that, I would be happy to do it," Clinton said.
Though Meghan has made no public statement of political ambition, it is not outside the realms of possibility that a former actor could take on the role as U.S. head of state.
"Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan had made it to the White House," Cawthorne wrote. "There was no reason that the Suits star of the Netflix generation could not follow in his footsteps helped with a little Windsor fairy dust."
No member of the British royal family has entered the U.S. political sphere to hold office.
"If Meghan did become President," Cawthorne wrote, "it would mean a temporary restoration of Britain's rule over the US since his [Harry's] forefather George III lost the American colonies."
Meghan was born in the U.S. and remained a citizen when she married Prince Harry in 2018. Though it has not been officially confirmed whether or not Meghan holds dual British citizenship, this would not disbar her from becoming president.
In Article 2 of the U.S. constitution, it states that only "natural born" American citizens can hold the office of president. This does not affect such citizens who hold dual citizenship with another country, so long as they have resided in the U.S. for more than 14 years and are over the age of 35.
Windsor Spares: The Prince Harry and Prince Andrew Soap Opera! by Nigel Cawthorne, published by Gibson Square Books, is published in the U.K. on June 20.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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