William and Harry's Former Private Secretary Says They “Had the Potential to Be Very, Very Powerful” Together
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton compared the brothers' personalities to different types of helicopters.
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton once worked for both Prince William and Prince Harry as a private secretary, and in a new interview, he’s weighing in on their very different personalities.
Appearing on Gyles Brandreth’s “Rosebud” podcast, Lowther-Pinkerton—who serves as one of Prince George's godfathers—said that the Duke of Sussex and Prince of Wales could’ve been a “very powerful” team if their relationship hadn’t deteriorated.
“I thought they both had great talents in very different ways,” Lowther-Pinkerton said of the time he worked with the brothers. “One was instinctive, one was very considered.”
He compared the different helicopters the brothers flew during their duties as indicative of their personalities. “Harry would be clipping the trees at 130 knots or whatever it was, with 35 things to do in an attack helicopter," Lowther-Pinkerton said of the Duke of Sussex, who served in the British Army.
Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales, who worked as a search and rescue pilot before taking on full-time royal duties, had a different approach.
“You know, Prince William was in a great big yellow helicopter and he had to go out into the storm, literally for 300 miles in a straight line, make sure fuel loads were precise,” Lowther-Pinkerton said of William's missions to save people "who were in trouble."
William and Harry pose in front of a helicopter during their time training at RAF Shawbury in 2009.
Adding that “those two helicopters slightly describe them,” Lowther-Pinkerton shared that he also looks at Harry and William as similar to two famous royal siblings of the 1300s. He compared Prince Harry to John of Gaunt, the fourth son of King Edward III, and William to John’s brother Edward, the Black Prince, who was the Prince of Wales.
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“You know, they were both equally powerful,” Lowther-Pinkerton shared of William and Harry. “I don’t mean in terms of the roles they were going to have to fulfill, but they had the potential to be very, very powerful actually, the two of them. And as you say, it didn't turn out like that.”
Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.
Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.
Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.