Prince Harry and Prince William partied so much as teenagers that Highgrove House was known as “Club H”, claims royal author

(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images/Future)

published 30 October 2022

A new book has claimed that Prince William and Prince Harry were often left to fend for themselves, with their father King Charles leaving them to throw crazy parties in Highgrove House as teenagers

A royal author has claimed that King Charles was not a 'present' father, leaving his then teenage sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, often unable to get in touch with him
Subsequently, the boys became rebellious, allegedly throwing parties so frequently that Highgrove House began to be known as 'Club H'
In other royal news, Prince Harry has confirmed the name and release date of his upcoming new book

After the death of their mother, Princess Diana, the then teenagers Prince William and Prince Harry were often left alone, with no way to contact their dad, the then Prince Charles.

The claims come from a new royal book, The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown which is available on Amazon, written by royal expert Katie Nicholl. According to Nicholl, King Charles was not a 'present' father with his sons, often leaving them to their own devices as he was 'busy' with work and his longtime love, the then Camilla Parker-Bowles.

Nicholl writes, “With a busy work schedule and Camilla now very much a priority in his private diary, Charles placed too much trust in William and Harry to look after themselves."

King Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry

When the boys were not staying at the elite boarding school Eton College, they spent the majority of their time at their father’s home, Highgrove House, but Charles was rarely there, one of Charles' former aides told Nicholl.

According to the former aide, this lack of attention led the young brothers to act out and become rebellious.

They explained, “The boys wanted their independence, and they probably had too much of it. Often when they wanted to speak to their father, he wasn’t around, and because he didn’t carry a cell phone with him, they would get frustrated that they couldn’t get a hold of him. If they needed him, they’d end up calling his protection officers so they could talk to him, which wasn’t ideal. They wanted to speak to their dad, but Charles doesn’t do calls on the hoof or texting; he likes to make time for considered conversations.”

When the teenagers were left un-supervised, whether by their father, his aides or the surrogate families Charles would reportedly send the boys off to, according to Her late Majesty’s cousin, Lady Elizabeth Anson, they got into trouble.

Lady Elizabeth told Nicholl, “At Highgrove on weekends, the boys could be at a loose end because Charles wasn’t always around.”

Nicholl reports that because parties were so frequently thrown by the brothers, Highgrove House began to be known as “Club H,” and by 2001, when Harry was just 17, he was drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes at an inn near the home.

Nicholl details, “Those who knew turned a blind eye, but when an aide recognised the unmistakable smell of marijuana emanating from Club H, the young prince was busted.”

Unfortunately, the brothers' foray into party throwing led to their first of many siblings rifts, as only Harry got in trouble, even though William was there at the time, too, Nicholl writes.

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Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.