Alison Hammond urges people to ‘leave Prince Harry alone’ as he grieves for Prince Philip

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Alison Hammond has spoken about Prince Harry on This Morning, urging people to ‘leave him alone’ as he grieves for Prince Philip.

It comes after the Duke of Sussex paid tribute to Philip by calling him a ‘legend of banter’, following his grandfather’s death at the age of 99.

‘He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince and a Duke,’ Prince Harry said in a recent statement.

‘But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right ’til the end.’

Prince Williams, meanwhile, called his grandfather ‘extraordinary man part of an extraordinary generation’ in his tribute.

Speaking with co-host Dermot O’Leary, Vanessa Feltz and Tom Swarbrick about Harry and William’s very different statements, Alison urged fans to be understanding and ‘leave Harry alone’.

First, Alison asked: ‘Lots of eyes are on William and Harry at the moment, do we need to be worrying about William and Harry and their relationship?’

Tom replied: ‘The ‘legend of banter’ stuff is a bit discordant with the national mood and the sombre way people are responding to it, but it’s his grandfather, it’s his grief, so even if it is a bit like what a teenager might say, actually it’s his relationship, let’s back off.’

Alison added: ‘I feel like whatever Harry says now, he is going to be criticised, and I think it’s so unfair. Leave him alone, he’s just lost his grandad, leave him alone.’

Alison also spoke about the Queen, saying: ‘She is not going to be alone, all the Royals are rallying around her and they will walk with her, I am so happy about that. I don’t want her to be alone.’

Meanwhile, Prince Harry, 36, has arrived back in the UK from his home in California ahead of his grandfather’s funeral on Saturday, although his heavily pregnant wife Meghan Markle has been advised not to fly to the UK.

A friend of Prince Harry’s has said he and his brother William are ‘unified’ despite what it may look like to the outside world, and the pair are ‘putting their differences aside’ to focus on the funeral.

This Morning airs on weekdays at 10am on ITV.

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