Royals will be horrified as Harry’s cocaine confession brings back memories of Freddie Windsor and Camilla’s son’s drug use – with Kate leading an anti-abuse charity.
Senior royals are likely to be uneasy about Prince Harry’s cocaine confession because it brings up unpleasant memories of drug use within the royal family.
The Duke of Sussex admitted to taking cocaine “a few times” during his wilder party years in his memoir Spare, which went on sale in Spain earlier than planned.
The 38-year-old Royal also admitted in his autobiography to using cannabis and magic mushrooms, and hallucinating that a bin was talking to him.
Harry described smoking cigarettes, cannabis, and drinking at the Windsor Castle golf course while a student at Eton in his book, but he is not the only member of the family who has experimented with illegal substances.
Camilla’s son, Tom Parker Bowles, was caught giving cocaine to a journalist at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 1999.
Last year, it was revealed that one of Ghisaline Maxwell’s accusers helped set up the sting.
The woman was paid up to £40,000 to assist a tabloid newspaper in setting up Mr Parker Bowles, son of the Queen Consort, as part of a well-publicized sting in 1999, according to the Telegraph.
TOM PARKER BOWLES
Mr Parker Bowles was secretly filmed offering to buy cocaine for the woman, who the tabloid used because she knew the food writer at the time.
He also admitted to using cocaine with a “someone he met last night” while working in France.
Mr Parker Bowles, a publicist at the time, was caught in the sting while attending the Cannes Film Festival, and the incident was covered on five pages of the News of the World.
Parker Bowles was described as ‘contrite’ in recent reports, while Prince Charles, who was then a patron of the drugs charity Phoenix House, was said to be ‘fairly cross’ with the 24-year-old and chastised him for being caught up in the sting.
Lord Frederick Windsor
Lord Frederick Windsor, Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, also admitted to taking cocaine after being caught on the floor of a London club at the age of 22.
He was caught snorting cocaine in 1999 after succumbing to peer pressure.
Lord Freddie later retold the story and expressed regret.
Lord Freddie and his younger sister Lady Gabriella Windsor were taken to a drug rehabilitation center as teenagers after the incident to see the problems caused by addiction.
The Princess stated at the time that both children were sick after leaving, having been shocked by the aged state of a 17-year-old addict they met.
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Knatchbull, Nicolas
Honourable Nicholas Knatchbull, the great-grandson of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, was another of Charles’ godchildren and a frequent holiday companion for Prince William.
But he became addicted to drugs, and his life after school devolved into a downward spiral of wild parties, forcing him to drop out of Edinburgh University after only six weeks.
A typical night out would include drug use, nightclubs, and dangerous high-speed maneuvers in the car his father had purchased for him.
Initially arrested and cautioned by police for possession of cannabis, he quickly progressed to crack cocaine, heroin, ketamine (horse tranquilizer), and MDMA (the active ingredient in ecstasy).
Devastated, his parents tried to keep him under curfew at Broadlands, the Hampshire home where the Queen and Prince Philip spent their honeymoon, but ended up sending him to detox clinics in Essex, Surrey, London, South Africa, and Arizona, which cost up to £10,000 per week.
When he fled The Priory in Roehampton, South-West London, they had no choice but to section him under the Mental Health Act.
Prince Harry’s drug use and partying lifestyle have been well documented, in addition to writing about them in his memoir.
During his Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002, the Duke described being dragged into an office by an anonymous Royal Household staff member after a reporter inquired about his drug use.
It was also reported in February 2002 that King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, sent Harry to Featherstone Lodge Rehabilitation Centre in Peckham.
His Majesty made the decision after learning that the prince had consumed drugs and alcohol at the Rattlebone Inn in Sherston, Wiltshire.
Harry had a wild weekend in Las Vegas in 2012, where he was photographed wearing only a necklace while a naked girl hid behind him after a game of strip billiards in his VIP suite.
During Dax’s ‘Armchair Expert’ show, the royal was chatting about how people are more likely to run away and rebel after being told ‘you need help’ when the host mentioned the notorious trip, joking: ‘[Or] take your clothes off in Las Vegas’.
Kate is a supporter of an anti-drug organization.
At the same time, senior royals like Kate Middleton are leading anti-drug charities.
The Princess of Wales issued a message of support for those suffering from addiction in October, urging them not to let shame prevent them from seeking help.
The Princess of Wales, patron of addiction recovery charity The Forward Trust, said addiction is ‘a serious health condition’ and ‘not a choice’.
On the first day of Addiction Awareness Week, she sends out a video message of support for the Taking Action on Addiction campaign.
Kate, 40, appears to be speaking from home in the video, as she sits on a couch with framed family photos visible behind her.
‘Addiction is a serious mental health condition that can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, or nationality,’ she says.
‘As a patron of The Forward Trust, I have met many people who have been affected by addiction. Addiction attitudes are shifting.
