Katie Couric Just Made Some Pretty Bold Claims About Prince Harry's Smoking Habit

The topics of conversation surrounding Prince Harry have shifted quite a bit since he and Meghan Markle officially stepped down from their roles as senior members of The British Royal Family. Although they're both still very much in the international spotlight, it is in a much different capacity than when they were a part of the innermost workings of British royalty.

New questions regarding Prince Harry's personal tendencies have emerged, one of which relates to an alleged smoking habit. So, does he? Let's take a look at the available information.

Prince Harry smoked in the past, albeit reportedly infrequently. According to The Sun, the former royal used to light up a cigarette here and there and was photographed by the paparazzi doing so on several occasions.

However, Harry changed his habit once his relationship with Meghan became serious.

"Harry has promised no smoking at all at home. It’s not nice for Meghan as a non-smoker," claimed an insider for The Daily Mail in 2017. "So there’s no more hanging out of the window for a quick puff. Harry has quit for Meghan."

It was initially unclear if that meant that he would only give up smoking while home with Meghan, but it appears to have extended into a full stop of the habit as time went on.

Doubling down on that, per The New York Daily News, Meghan's desire for Harry to stop smoking was amplified once the couple began trying to have a baby together.

"One of the reasons she got him to quit smoking is because smoking affects sperm production," an insider for the publication explained in 2018. Given that Harry hasn't been caught smoking in public ever since, it seems as though he kicked the habit for good before conceiving their first son, Archie.

Although Harry has seemingly kicked the habit, it doesn't mean it didn't leave a longstanding impression on those he was around in the past. According to The Daily Mail, journalist Katie Couric's forthcoming memoir, Going There, includes a segment where she details a rather smelly first meeting with Harry for an interview in Brazil.

She mentioned that their meeting happened during Harry's period of intense partying as a bachelor, which she described as his "wild-oats- sowing-phase." Per the publication, this interview occurred roughly two months before his infamous Las Vegas trip, which brought about the well-known photo of him playing "strip billiards" naked in a hotel room.

Katie said that when she met him, the smell of cigarettes and alcohol seemed to "ooze from every pore" in his body.

Harry has yet to respond to these claims, but such a negative description of a younger Harry may not go over well, given their current working relationship. One of the new jobs Harry has taken on since his 2020 departure from the royal family is a leadership role at the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder. Katie is also a prominent affiliate of this group, alongside other big names such as Rashad Robinson and Chris Krebs. Yikes.