Prince Harry has ‘suffered a lot’ and ‘wants a normal life’, says friend Nacho Figueras

‘This is a guy who is trying to protect his cub and his lioness from whatever it takes,’ says polo player

Nacho Figueras, a close friend of the Duke of Sussex, has spoken in support of his and the Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step away as working members of the royal family, saying that Prince Harry has “suffered a lot”.

Figueras, an international polo player from Argentina, provided his comments while speaking on a television programme called Royal Divide: Harry, Meghan and the Crown, which aired on ABC News on Wednesday evening.

The primetime special explores how Prince Harry and Meghan have been treated by the media, in addition to how the prince’s relationship with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, may change in the near future.

During his interview, Figueras revealed that he had spoken to the duke a few days previously.

“He has suffered a lot from all of the things that have happened to him. He suffers a lot from people judging him,” he said.

“He’s being a father. This is a guy who is trying to protect his cub and his lioness from whatever it takes.”

Figueras described Prince Harry as “an incredible man”, adding that he is “a man his mother would be proud of”.

“He wants to live a normal life, as normal as his life is going to be, right,” the sportsman said.

“Because when you have 1,000 paparazzis outside your house in Canada waiting to get one picture of your son, that’s not very, very normal.”

Following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex‘s announcement that they had decided to step down as “senior” members of the royal family, Prince Harry said he felt they had “no other option“.

While speaking at a private dinner for the Sentebale charity, the prince said the decision brought him “great sadness”.

“The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly,” he stated.

“It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges and I know I haven’t always got it right, but as far as this goes there really was no other option.”