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Prince Harry tricked into discussing 'Megxit’ by fake Greta Thunberg Prince Harry tricked into discussing 'Megxit’ by fake Greta Thunberg
(about 2 hours later)
Duke of Sussex reportedly spoke to hoaxers about Trump, the tabloids and Prince AndrewDuke of Sussex reportedly spoke to hoaxers about Trump, the tabloids and Prince Andrew
Prince Harry has apparently been tricked into talking about “Megxit”, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew in a phone call with Russian hoaxers posing as Greta Thunberg and her father, it has been revealed. Prince Harry has apparently been tricked into speaking about “Megxit”, Donald Trump, and his bitter battle with the tabloid press by Russian hoaxers posing as the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and her father, it has been reported.
The Duke of Sussex reportedly spoke revealingly about his decision to step back from royal life during two conversations with Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov, known as Vovan and Lexus. The Duke of Sussex also spoke about Boris Johnson in two phone calls, said to have been made by Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov, to his rented Vancouver Island mansion on New Year’s Eve and 22 January, the Sun said.
He also spoke of his battle with a “bullying” tabloid media, who he was said to believe are trying to “sink” him and his wife, Meghan. The royal, seemingly duped into thinking he was talking to Thunberg and her father, Svante, also spoke of a “bullying” tabloid media trying to “sink” him and his wife, Meghan.
In recordings reported by the Sun, a voice said to be Harry says Trump has “blood on his hands” over his stance on climate change, the British political system is “broken” and his decade serving in the military made him “more normal than my family would like to believe”. In reports of the conversations, Harry said Trump had “blood on his hands” in relation to the climate crisis; that the British political system was “broken”; and that his decade serving in the military had made him “more normal than my family would like to believe”.
In an email exchange with the Guardian, the hoaxers confirmed that the Sun’s report was correct and said audio rights had been “transferred” to British media and they could not comment further. A spokeswoman for the Sussexes declined to comment when asked if there was any doubt the voice was that of Harry.
Harry is reported to have taken the calls on New Year’s Eve and 22 January while at the Vancouver Island mansion that he and Meghan have been renting. The fact the hoaxers, known as Vovan and Lexus, appear to have got through to the royal on his Canadian landline has raised questions over the security and screening measures in place for Harry and Meghan as they step down as working royals to become financially independent.
A spokeswoman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex declined to comment on the report. A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman for the couple declined to comment when asked if there was any doubt the voice heard was that of Harry. The couple have a 15-strong team of staff based at Buckingham Palace, but they will be disbanded when the couple transition on 31 March, with some staff being made redundant and others redeployed in other royal households. No details about any staff in Canada have been made public.
Kuznetsov and Stolyarov’s previous targets have included Elton John, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the US Democrat Bernie Sanders. The right to the audio recordings had been “transferred” to British media, the hoaxers said in response to a Guardian inquiry, in which they confirmed the Sun’s report.
During the conversations, Harry was asked about reports of him being stripped of his royal titles by the Queen. He replied: “No, no, again you mustn’t believe what you read, no one has stripped us of our titles. In the audio, excerpts of which have been published by the Sun, a person, reportedly Harry, says of the decision to stand down as a senior royal: “Sometimes the right decision isn’t always the easy one. And this decision certainly wasn’t the easy one, but it was the right decision for our family, the right decision to be able to protect my son. And I think there’s a hell of a lot of people around the world that can identify and respect us for putting our family first.”
“Because of a technicality within the family, if we are earning money separately from within the family structure, then we obviously have been asked not to use our titles in order to make money, which we would never do. But the press managed to jump on that to make it look like we had been stripped.” On Trump, he says: “I think the mere fact that Donald Trump is pushing the coal industry so big in America, he has blood on his hands.” He says he is confident “things will change” on the climate agenda within 10 years: “But we can’t wait five to 10 years, so I think if Donald Trump can become president of the United States of America, then anything’s possible, right?”
Discussing his decision to step down from the royal family, he said: “And this decision certainly wasn’t an easy one but it was the right decision for our family, the right decision to be able to protect my son. He goes on: “You forget, I was in the military for 10 years so I’m more normal than my family would like to believe.”
“And I think there’s a hell of a lot of people around the world that can identify and respect us for putting our family first, But, yeah, it’s a tricky one, but we will start a new life.” And adds: “But certainly, being in a different position now gives us the ability to say things and do things that we might not have been able to do.”
He added: “You forget, I was in the military for 10 years, so I’m more normal than my family would like to believe. But certainly, being in a different position now gives us the ability to say things and do things that we might not have been able to do.” On Meghan, he tells the hoaxers: “I can assure you, marrying a prince or princess is not all it’s made up to be.”
On Meghan, Harry told the hoaxers: “I can assure you, marrying a prince or princess is not all it’s made up to be.” On Prince Andrew, who has stepped from public duties over his friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, he says: “I have very little to say on that. But whatever he has done or hasn’t done, is completely separate from me and my wife.”
On Trump, Harry told the person he believed to be Thunberg: “The mere fact that Donald Trump is pushing the coal industry is so big in America, he has blood on his hands. Trump will want to meet you to make him look better but he won’t want to have a discussion about climate change with you because you will outsmart him.” He speaks of Johnson being a “good man”, and tells the person posing as Thunberg: “So you are one of the few people who can reach into his soul and get him to feel and believe in you. But you have to understand that because he has been around for so long like all of these other people, they are already set in their ways.”
On Prince Andrew, who has stepped down from public duties over his friendship with the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, Harry said: “I have very little to say on that. But whatever he has done or hasn’t done is completely separate from me and my wife.” During the conversations, he remarks that the “world is a troubled place” and that it is “being led by some very sick people”. People need to be woken up, he says, “because at the end of the day we are all the frog that has been put in cold water and brought to the boil without realising”.
On Boris Johnson, Harry said: “He is a good man, so you are one of the few people who can reach into his soul and get him to feel and believe in you. But you have to understand that because he has been around for so long, like all of these other people, they are already set in their ways.” Of his relationship with the media, he says: “What I’ve always believed, one of the strongest ways to change mindset and be able to raise consciousness and be able to create self-awareness among people, is to challenge the media and say you have a responsibility and you are accountable for everything you are feeding people because you are brainwashing people, so this is far bigger than just us.”
During the conversations, Harry also said the world was “a troubled place” and was “being led by some very sick people”. He told the fake Thunberg that people needed to be woken up “because at the end of the day we are all the frog that has been put in cold water and brought to the boil without realising”. In separate quotes, published by Mail Online, Harry reportedly says he has been “part of a family and part of a country that is scared of the tabloid media because they have so much power and influence and no morals.
He was also asked about his battle with the media. “For most, all of my life, I’ve always been part of a family and part of a country that is scared of the tabloid media because they have so much power and influence and no morals,” he said, reportedly chuckling. “From the moment that I found a wife that was strong enough to be able to stand up for what we believe in together, [that] has basically scared them so much that they’ve now come out incredibly angry, they’ve some out fighting, and all they will try and do now is try and destroy our reputation and try and, you know, sink us.”
“From the moment that I found a wife that was strong enough to be able to stand up for what we believe in together, has basically scared them so much that they’ve now come out incredibly angry, they’ve come out fighting, and all they will and do now is try and destroy our reputation and try and, you know, sink us. He adds: “It hasn’t been very nice. It’s been horrible, but we will come out of it stronger people.”
“But what they don’t understand is the battle we are fighting against them is far more than just us. So I think one of the – what I’ve always believed – one of the strongest ways to change mindset and be able to raise consciousness and be able to create self-awareness among people, is to challenge the media and say you have a responsibility and you are accountable for everything you are feeding people because you are brainwashing people, so this is far bigger than just us.:” Kuznetsov and Stolyarov have previously targeted Elton John, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the US senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.
He added: “Even though they want to make it personal, they are scared because we are some of the first two people willing to stand up to their bullying, and my wife, we can’t stand back. Harry is not the first royal to be hoaxed. The Queen was targeted at Buckingham Palace in 1995 by the Canadian impressionist and satirical radio show host Pierre Brassard, who was put through by officials believing him to be Canada’s prime minister, Jean Chrétien. The monarch chatted to Brassard for 17 minutes, during which she promised she would try to influence Quebec’s referendum on proposals to break away from Canada.
“It hasn’t been very nice. It’s been horrible, but we will come out of it stronger people.” In 1996 Princess Diana was hoaxed by the broadcaster Victor Lewis-Smith, posing as Prof Stephen Hawking. In their 18-minute chat, she spoke about Prince Charles, Fidel Castro and Bill Clinton.
The ease with which the hoaxers appear to have managed to get Harry on the line raises questions about security measures at their Canadian mansion, and whether they have a team of staff around them to check calls. In 2012, a nurse who was treating the Duchess of Cambridge while she was pregnant killed herself after being duped by hoaxers. Jacintha Saldanha had been tricked by two Australian radio DJs, who impersonated the Queen and the Prince of Wales, into giving an update on the condition of Kate, who was being treated for severe morning sickness at the private hospital.
The couple have not made public details of their staffing arrangements in Canada. Their 15-strong team at Buckingham Palace will be disbanded on 31 March when they step down as working royals. Some palace staff are being made redundant and others redeployed within other royal households.
Being based in Britain may not have offered the couple any greater protection against hoaxers, however. The Queen was famously targeted while at Buckingham Palace. A Canadian impressionist and satirical radio host, Pierre Brassard, was put through to the monarch in 1995 after officials believed he was Canada’s then prime minister, Jean Chretien. She chatted to Brassard for 17 minutes, including about her Halloween plans and a referendum in Quebec.
In 1996 Diana was hoaxed by the broadcaster Victor-Lewis-Smith posing as Stephen Hawking. In their 18-minute chat she spoke about Prince Charles, Fidel Castro and Bill Clinton.
In 2012 a nurse who was treating the Duchess of Cambridge while she was pregnant took her own life after being duped by hoaxers. Jacintha Saldanha was tricked by two Australian radio DJs who impersonated the Queen and the Prince of Wales into giving a condition update on Kate, who was suffering from severe morning sickness at the private hospital.