Prince Harry lookalike says he has failed to secure single booking since Megxit
Mechanic who earned £2,500 a week as a Prince Harry lookalike says he has failed to secure single booking since he left for US with Meghan Markle
- Henry Morley says interest in public appearances have plummeted after Megxit
- He says people feel the Duke and Duchess of Sussex abandoned their country
- The garage owner is praying the prince patches up his public image in Britain
Published: 04:32 EDT, 28 August 2020 | Updated: 05:04 EDT, 28 August 2020
A mechanic who used to earn £2,500 a week moonlighting as a Prince Harry lookalike says his lucrative side hustle is in ruins after failing to secure a single booking since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to North America.
Henry Morley says Harry and Meghan’s decision to quit the royal family has seen interest in his appearances plummet as the public think the couple have abandoned their country.
The 31-year-old, who received up to £1,500 per booking around the time of their wedding in 2018, was even dubbed ‘Prince Harry of the north’ after years of guest appearances at nightclubs and parties.
Now the garage owner, who has been getting told by revellers on nights out that he’s Harry’s mirror image for over a decade, is praying the prince patches up his public image in Britain or fears his own career as a lookalike may be gone for good.
Henry Morley, pictured left, has been getting told by revellers on nights out that he’s the mirror image of Prince Harry, pictured right, for over a decade
Lookalikes Henry Morley and Susana Santana recreate an image of Harry and Meghan holding baby Archie
Harry and Meghan lookalikes Henry Morley and Sarah Mhlanga outside Buckingham Palace
Henry, of Malton, North Yorkshire, said: ‘Since Harry and Meghan left the UK, I’ve not had a single booking.
‘A lot of businesses don’t want to use Harry and Meghan to promote themselves because they think they’ve abandoned their country.
‘I think whether business picks up again will depend on what Harry and Meghan do with their careers.
‘If he’s going to stay out of the public eye then that’s my career over.
‘I’m hoping he and Meghan might become stars in their own right in America, but more like Hollywood celebrities rather than royals.’
Strangers only began commenting on Henry’s uncanny resemblance to the prince when he hit 18.
And while his fiancé of four years, nurse Emma Young, 27, is jealous of the attention he gets from passers-by who stop him for photos in the street, Henry says he no longer notices people staring at him.
Henry said: ‘I’m Prince Harry of the north.
‘I don’t get many comments when I’m in overalls at the garage, but when I go out in York wearing a shirt someone will always come up to me and say ‘has anyone ever told you that you look like Prince Harry?’
‘My girlfriend gets a bit jealous because people in the street always want a picture with me but not with her and she says people are looking at me when I go down the street.
Henry as Prince Harry alongside fellow lookalikes, Jeanette Charles as the Queen and Peter Hugo as Prince Charles
With his £2,500 a week side hustle in ruins, Henry now relies solely on his day job as a mechanic
‘To be honest I don’t even notice anymore, I’ve been told I look like him since I was 18.’
Henry’s resemblance to the Duke of Sussex is skin deep only though and he admits his princely façade is broken the second he opens his mouth and reveals his strong Yorkshire accent.
He has appeared with over ten different Meghan lookalikes since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex first met four years ago.
And during Harry’s younger days, Henry was paid to party at nightclubs across the UK pretending to be him and even made an appearance at Secret Garden Party in 2014 when the prince was rumoured to be there.
He said: ‘It’s a lot more fun being a Harry lookalike than a William one.
‘Harry has a different image so you’re not having to wear suits all the time
‘I’ve been paid to appear at Popworld Leeds with a Meghan lookalike before.
‘I like doing all events but meet and greets can be challenging because people expect you to be the real person and you’re not.
‘Other than saying ‘hello do you want a picture?’ you can’t do anything else.’