True story: I had never heard of Joe Marler before all of this. Marler is a retired English rugby player who played for the national team up until 2024. Prince Harry is not only a long-time rugby fan, he was actually patron of England’s Rugby Union for many years… before Buckingham Palace threw a tantrum in 2021 and demanded that Harry needed to be dumped as patron. So, that’s sort of how Prince Harry knows Marler, although it’s clear that they’ve barely spoken before in their lives. Since Marler retired, he’s done what many men do nowadays: he podcasts. He started a smallish podcast called Joe Marler Will See You Now where he talks about sports and mental health and everything else. When Harry was in the UK last week, he filmed/recorded an episode.
Harry is so naturally funny. He’s not joke-a-minute, but he has a quick wit and a blokey charm. I would imagine that Harry chose this podcast because of the rugby association, and because Marler seems genuinely interested in discussing mental health and Invictus.
Favorite parts? Harry saying his full name: “Henry Albert Charles David, Duke of Sussex.” Marler asked for his occupation and Harry said: “Full-time dad. British Army veteran. Prince of England. Duke. But for today, I don’t know. What do you want?… Duke.” Then Marler called him the “inventor” of the Invictus Games and Harry corrected him, saying “founder.” Incidentally, this is not the first time Harry has named “dad” as his primary occupation. He’s been asked this before, and I like that he puts fatherhood at the top of his job titles. But I wish he wasn’t so British about it – it’s fine to brag a bit, especially because of all of the crap said about him. Say, “full-time dad, veteran, Invictus founder, producer, part-time polo player, humanitarian.” Something like that. Tom Sykes is already clutching his pearls about this interview, btw.
Screencaps courtesy of YouTube.
