From bonding over a boozy night out to their relationship fizzling out,
these were the highs and lows of Prince Harry and Caroline Flack's whirlwind romance.
Entertainers and royals often rub shoulders after meeting at glitzy events and dazzling
galas. Princess Diana had several A-list friends, spanning from Tom Hanks to Elton
John. King Charles III also has quite the inner circle, counting Rod Stewart
as one of his pals. Caroline Flack was still building her career in the U.K. when she met
Prince Harry. She had mainly hosted children's TV shows and was nowhere near the household name
she would become in the decade that followed. However, Harry and Flack shared acquaintances.
According to their respective memoirs, they met by chance at a group dinner arranged by
a mutual friend, Natalie Pinkham, and hit it off. As Flack wrote in "Storm in a C Cup,"
"I knew [Natalie] was friends with Prince Harry, and I'd never met him, so I thought,
'Oh that's quite exciting,' and for a moment I perked up. So I was just sitting there and
he arrived with a few others in tow and we all spent the evening chatting and laughing."
At just 24, Harry was five years younger than the TV
host, but the age gap didn't seem to bother them.
"I think everybody loves a bit of love."
Caroline Flack had a pretty traditional upbringing, growing up alongside two older
siblings and a twin sister, Jody. In her memoir "Storm in a C Cup," Flack wrote,
"The great thing about having a twin is that you always have someone to play with. During
the whole of my childhood, from the moment I woke up until the moment I went to sleep,
I never knew what it was like to be alone."
Things were a lot different for Harry, who grew up under the watchful gaze of the entire world.
Caroline and Harry later spoke about how much fun they had in the early days of their whirlwind
courtship. Harry called her "funny" and "cool," while Caroline admitted that meeting a real-life
Prince was something that excited her. At the time, Harry was known for being a partier.
Flack was also enjoying her time in London's social scene. In 2009, Marie Clare reported
that one of their dates included a boozy night out at Troubadour in Fulham. They reportedly
left together at 4 a.m. when they were driven back to Clarence House by Harry's bodyguard.
The British tabloids seem to have a sixth sense for new royal romances. Every
senior member of the royal family has had their love life scrutinized under the microscope at some
point. King Charles III took his fair share of heat when he reached 30 and still wasn't married,
while Princess Catherine was dubbed "Waity Katie" by the press after Prince William
still hadn't proposed after nearly a decade of dating. Prince Harry was no exception.
It didn't take long for the paparazzi to snap pictures of Harry and Caroline Flack together
in London. And just like that, it went from an under-the-radar romance to a very public
matter of interest. Harry likely knew what was coming, given his previous experience; however,
this was a totally new experience for Flack, and it rocked her way of life considerably.
As Meghan Markle knows, dating Prince Harry isn't for the faint of heart. It
takes a particular type of person to put up with the invasiveness of
the British press. Unfortunately, Flack found out the hard way when the couple's
relationship suddenly became gossip column fodder that she couldn't get away from.
They managed to keep their relationship under wraps for a period of time,
but they couldn't keep it a secret forever. Almost immediately after the news of their
relationship broke, photographers gathered. As Harry explained in "Spare,"
"Very soon after [the media] papped me and Flack, those photos set off a frenzy. Within hours a mob
was camped outside Flack's parents' house, and all her friends' houses, and her grandparents' house."
It didn't just stop there, either. Publications pointed out that Flack
came from a different type of background than well-to-do Harry,
which didn't sit well with the prince. Of the press' reaction, he wrote in his memoir,
"Are we really such a country of insufferable snobs?"
Despite all of the adversity, the couple initially decided to
stick it out and carry on with their relationship, braving the scrutiny.
Caroline later detailed how her public persona changed after things
went stratospheric. She wrote in her memoir,
"Once the story got out, that was it. We had to stop seeing each other. I was
no longer Caroline Flack, TV presenter, I was Caroline Flack. Prince Harry's 'bit of rough.'"
Something that started out as a fun chance meeting and a playful romance turned into something much
uglier and untenable. It was a problem for them both, with Harry later writing in "Spare,"
"I felt so awful for her family. I remembered
how they'd all suffered for her mortal sin of going out with me."
It wasn't long before the couple decided to part ways.
"It was so intrusive and it's not just showbiz journalists going 'Ooh,
what's happened?' It's people standing at my dad's house,
my mum's house, my brother's house, my sister's house, nan's house."
When royal romances end, it's a huge deal. Even if they are short-lived trysts, the world is
constantly wondering if the relationship will end in a proposal that alters the course of history.
At the end of the day, even Princess Catherine started out as Prince William's girlfriend,
and now she's the future queen and the mother of the future monarch. Obviously,
when Prince Harry and Caroline Flack split, it wasn't the ideal outcome for their relationship.
But did Harry and Flack actually manage to salvage a friendship out of the whole circus?
Once they called time on their connection, the TV host and the prince were never
pictured together again, so it's probably unlikely that they became best pals. However,
it seems like it ended pretty amicably. After all, Harry didn't have a bad word
to say about their relationship in his book, and neither did Flack in hers.
So, while it's definitely true that romances go sour all the time, especially high-profile ones,
it seems as though Prince Harry and Caroline Flack managed to end things on a good note.
Regardless of if you're in a famous pairing or a run-of-the-mill "situationship" with
your Average Joe, managing to keep things easy isn't always civil.
Let's be honest, dating Prince Harry was always going to garner some attention,
even if it ended up being a short-term casual romantic relationship. While she had been part
of several TV shows by this time and her stardom was growing organically,
it really took off after her time with Prince Harry. She presented several mainstream shows
in Britain and became a TV staple, working on "Dancing on Wheels," "The
Whole 19 Yards," hosting the "BRIT Awards: Backstage," and more in the coming months.
By early 2011, Flack had landed her biggest hosting gig to date as the co-presenter of "The X
Factor" sister show, "The Xtra Factor." Producers liked her style and audiences warmed to her
vivacious bubbly personality. Career-wise, things were looking up for Flack. The offers weren't
drying up and with her royal ex firmly behind her, she was free to look on toward the future.
While the impact getting involved with Prince Harry had on her career wasn't intentional,
no one can deny that it helped the British public warm to Flack. She wasn't a total unknown anymore
or "that girl from the TV." She was Caroline Flack, the woman that hosted some of Britain's
biggest television shows. In an incredibly competitive industry, this wasn't something
that was easy to achieve. Flack's natural charisma helped her beat her way to the top.
"I think the reason I work in TV is because I get
a creative buzz out of everything I do. Every day is different.”
Despite having a successful career, Caroline Flack's life didn't have a happy ending. She
should have been at her peak in 2019 as the host of one of the biggest dating shows,
"Love Island." Tragically, her own love story with former tennis pro Lewis Burton would be
her last. The pair had been dating for some time when an altercation resulted in the police being
called. While reports of the events are varied, Flack was charged with assaulting Burton. Although
Burton didn't want to pursue the case, it was taken out of his hands by the authorities.
Subsequently, Flack released a statement explaining that
she would be giving up her "Love Island" job:
"There have been a significant number of media reports and allegations in
regards to my personal life. [...] I can't comment further on these matters
until the legal process is over. In order to not detract attention from
the upcoming series I feel the best thing I can do is to stand down for series 6."
Two months later, Flack was found dead in her home on February 15,
2020. An inquest found that she had died by suicide. Caroline Flack's death had a
huge impact on her family, friends, and fans, many of whom tweeted out their condolences.
Prince Harry didn't publicly speak about Caroline Flack until his 2023 memoir. Talking about such
private matters can be tricky, especially when the other person is no longer around to comment
on it. Flack's former agent, Alex Mullen, wasn't very happy about Harry's mention of her. Mullen
had worked with Flack for years, right up until her untimely passing in 2020. Even though Prince
Harry spoke highly of Flack, Mullen felt that it was in poor taste, writing on Instagram,
"Gross for Prince Harry to reveal such private details about Caroline Flack.
The way the press spoke about her at that time and the reason they split
are both very sad and it's gross he's using her name to help sell his book."
Mullen continued:
"The Royal Family need to strip him of all his titles NOW."
On the flip side, some of Flack's friends actually thought that it was nice of Prince Harry to talk
about their beloved pal in such a flattering light. Two of Flack's closest girlfriends,
hairstylists Sam Campbell and Lou Teasdale, thanked Harry for his comments, with Teasdale
even calling him "Prince Charming" on her Instagram story. For the most part,
it looks like the reaction to Harry's retelling of their romance was largely positive, and let's
not forget, the presenter spilled the beans on their time together first in her 2015 memoir.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please dial or text 988 to speak with
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also seek help by visiting 988lifeline.org.