A Prince Harry lookalike is set to make more than £5,000 from the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations next weekend.
Rhys Whittcock, 38, told MyLondon that he has 12 events lined up, with each job typically earning him between £500 and £700.
He has made a living from impersonating the Queen’s nephew since Prince Harry ’s engagement to Meghan Markle in 2017.
As well as attending work and personal events, Rhys has jetted across the world to make a billionaire happy on his birthday and benefited from free air travel for a whole year thanks to an EasyJet lookalike competition.
Rhys also uses Airtasker, a local services marketplace, to advertise his work for those looking for Jubilee entertainment.
He also has agents and self-promotes via his website and social media.
Are you a Prince Harry or Meghan Markle lookalike who has been booked for Jubilee events. Email webnews@mirror.co.uk
Leading up Jubilee celebrations on Sunday June 5 will be a particularly busy time for him.
It’s occasions such as Harry and Meghan’s wedding and the Queen ’s Jubilee that prove “very profitable” for the Southwark man, who once won an EasyJet competition for the best Prince Harry lookalike in Europe - earning him free flights for an entire year.
The majority of the Londoner’s work is split between doing meet and greets or events, and photoshoots.
He has a selection of suits as well as a replica of Harry’s military attire - a crowd favourite. Rhys managed to source the outfit from a military surplus seller and had replicas made of Prince Harry’s medals.
“I went into loads of details to get it as spot on as I could,” he told MyLondon.
“People love the military clothes - it gives that extra bit of distinctiveness and is so identifiable as Prince Harry.”
As well as working two jobs a day in the busy periods, Rhys gets invited to parties around the world and given lavish perks.
He once was flown out in business class to Hong Kong for a billionaire’s 75th birthday party, he told MyLondon.
They were “a big fan of everything British” Rhys said - to the point where a set of Buckingham Palace was created in the hotel lobby and a birthday cake shaped like a royal carriage was wheeled out.
Rhys stayed in a five-star hotel for three nights.
He said people often walk past him and do a double-take or whisper about the incredible similarities between him and Prince Harry.
The Londoner has even managed to fool people entirely.
After a work event in Windsor, he and the Prince William doppelganger were walking back to the station when a woman stopped them, aghast.
“She gasped for breath and asked for a photo,” explained Rhys. “She was so excited that we didn’t have the heart to tell her we’re not them. She had come to Windsor for the day and gone home with a photo of the princes to show her family. It made her day.”
Rhys is also a big fan of the Royals himself.
“I absolutely love my job,” he said. “I couldn’t think of a better job. It’s the best job in the world.”
Her Majesty the Queen is the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of service for the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth.
The four-day public holiday is planned so celebrations can take place across a four-day weekend in June 2022, with an eye-popping budget of £15 million.
Celebrations include the Queen’s Birthday Parade, a Service of Thanksgiving and a Platinum Party at the Palace.
On Sunday, is the Big Jubilee Lunch and there will be Platinum Jubilee Pageant.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to travel from their home in California for the celebrations.
The couple stepped down as senior working royals in 2020.
Their children Archie, three, and 11-month-old Lilibet will also be joining them, with the Queen set to meet Lilibet for the first time since she was born last June.
News of their return came just minutes after it was announced they will not be on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the Trooping the Colour event after Her Majesty limited it to working royals only.
