Prince Harry surprised photographers with an unexpected compliment during his appearance at the TIME100 Sports Gala in New York City. On July 16, 2026, the Duke of Sussex attended the event and stopped on the red carpet to pose for photos before heading inside the venue. As photographers called out to capture his attention, one addressed him as “Mr. Duke of Sussex, Sir,” while another encouraged him to look toward a colleague. The father of three smiled at the interaction and told the group they were “the most polite set of photographers” he had ever encountered. The photographers thanked him, and he responded with a thumbs-up before continuing into the event.
🆕 Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attends TIME100 Sports Gala in NYC.
The Duke was named one of the TIME100 Most influential People in Sports 2026 in the "Leaders" category.#PrinceHarry pic.twitter.com/YCAfRaAnar
— ChrisBaronSmith (@ChrisBaronSmit1) July 17, 2026
The interaction stood out because Prince Harry has often talked about his difficult moments with the media and paparazzi. Over the years, the Duke of Sussex has opened up about the negative effects of media attention, particularly following the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in August 1997. The late Princess died at the age of 36 after a car crash in Paris while her vehicle was being followed by photographers. In the 2017 BBC documentary Diana 7 Days, Harry reflected on the intense media attention his mother experienced and how those events shaped his own views on the press.
“One of those really hard, bad memories [was when] we were on the way to a tennis lesson. She was so fed up with being chased by guys in cars and motorbikes that she stopped a car on a side street, on the way to the Harbour Club, jumped out of the car, and went running up to these guys and shouted and screamed at them while they took photographs of her. That lasted for about five minutes… all I could hear was screaming.” He then revealed, “when she got back in the car, she couldn’t even talk to us. Her eyes were just bawling out. She was constantly crying.”
Prince Harry’s New York visit came shortly after the estranged royal returned from the United Kingdom earlier in July. The Duke attended the one-year countdown festivities to the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham. In addition, he had a private reunion with King Charles and Queen Camilla, who saw Meghan Markle, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet for the first time in around four years.
