Prince Harry turned down invite during Edinburgh trip…

Prince Harry turned down invite during Edinburgh trip that would have caused 'huge scandal'

Prince Harry turned a down an invite while in Edinburgh for fear that it would cause a 'huge scandal', according his memoir 'Spare'.

The Duke of Sussex was visiting his friend Henry van Straubenzee, nicknamed Henners, in Edinburgh as he made plans to visit Africa in a campaign against AIDs. During the visit, Harry spoke at length with Henners about the future and what it could hold.

In the book, Harry wrote: "The future. We wondered aloud about what it held. I worried about it, but not Henners.

"He didn't take the future seriously, didn't take anything seriously. Life as it comes, Haz. That was Henners, always and forever. I envied his tranquility."

Harry then went on to explain that his friend was set on visiting a casino in Edinburgh, and invited the Prince along.

Harry wrote: "For now, however, he was heading to one of Edinburgh's casinos. He asked if I wanted to come along.

"Ah, can't, I said. I couldn't possibly be seen in a casino. It would cause a huge scandal. Too bad, he said. Cheers, we both said, promising to talk again soon."

Harry then had a tragic ending to his friendship with Henry, as he died in a car crash just before Christmas 2002 - when Harry was just 18-years-old.

In the memoir, the Duke said: "I only dimly recall holding the phone, hearing the words. Henners and another boy, leaving a party near Ludgrove, drove into a tree...They didn't bother with seatbelts...Just like Mummy.

"And yet, unlike Mummy, there was no way to spin this as a disappearance. This was death, no two ways about it.