Prince Harry raps the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme tune on The Late Late Show with James Corden

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The Duke of Sussex rapped the theme song from The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air as he joined James Corden on The Late Late Show.

In a segment filmed before he and wife Meghan confirmed they will not be returning as working members of the Royal Family, Harry joined the TV host for a double-decker bus tour of Los Angeles.

After Corden told him to pay the fare before jumping on the bus, Harry quipped ‘you know us royals, we don’t carry cash’ and said it was his first time on an open-top bus because ‘we’re not really allowed to’.

Corden served him afternoon tea while pointing out celebrity homes, including what he claimed were those of Friends star David Schwimmer and Die Hard actor Bruce Willis.

But moments later the bus brakes heavily and the dinner wagon holding the tea jolts into Prince Harry, who appears to swear.

During a visit to the house that featured on 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Harry rapped the famous theme song, which was originally performed by Will Smith.

Corden tried to convince him to buy the sprawling mansion before Harry went inside to use the bathroom.

They then video called Meghan, who in response to Corden’s suggestion they buy the house, quipped ‘I think we’ve done enough moving’.

She then asked ‘Haz’ how his tour of Los Angeles was going but he called Corden ‘the worst tour guide in LA’.

It comes as a bidding war broke out between UK broadcasters over the rights to air the incendiary Oprah Winfrey interview with the couple , with ITV reportedly emerging as the frontrunner.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to be ‘very candid’ with their friend Oprah in the 90-minute CBS primetime special after last week announcing that they had officially quit the Royal Family.

It is understood ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group, which will be selling the programme overseas, is keen for the interview to land on a free-to-air broadcaster to ensure a significant profile in the UK.

According to Variety, Comcast-owned Sky was out of the running while streaming giants Amazon Prime and Netflix – which has already signed a £112million deal with the Sussexes – are thought to not be involved.

The BBC is also not believed to be in the running, as it is instead airing the Queen’s annual Commonwealth Day message in a pre-recorded speech at Windsor on March 7 – just 24 hours before the Oprah interview is broadcast in the US.

Instead, ITV – whose journalist Tom Bradby famously asked Meghan if she was ‘okay’ as part of the broadcaster’s 2019 documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey – has reportedly emerged as the main contender. 

A spokesman for ITV declined to comment on reports that it had raced ahead in the bidding war among UK broadcasters.

BBC sources told Variety the public broadcaster – which has launched an investigation into how BBC Panorama secured an interview with Harry’s mother Princess Diana in 1995 – is not involved in the process.

Other potential broadcasters include ViacomCBS-backed Channel 5, which airs some Royal content, and Channel 4, which aired an ‘Alternative Christmas Message’ from a deepfake of the Queen over the holidays.

The BBC, Sky and ViacomCBS have been approached comment..

It is not yet known how or when UK viewers will see the full Oprah interview, though clips of the 90-minute chat will be all over the international TV news and online media minutes after it is shown in America. 

This week it emerged Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah may have to be re-edited or even partially re-shot due to the rift it has caused with the royal family and 99-year-old Prince Philip’s hospitalisation.   

Harry and Meghan are said to be in shock because the Queen stripped them of their royal and sporting patronages after they ‘poured their hearts out’ to Oprah during a two-day shoot in their £11million LA mansion last week. 

The tell-all interview is due to air on Sunday March 7 with no topics off-limits, with one source warning Harry’s family the show would be a good ‘time to hide behind the sofa at the palace’.  

Oprah will first speak with Meghan about royal life, marriage, motherhood, her philanthropic work and how she handles life under the public eye, before being joined by Harry to discuss their move to the US and future goals.        

Meghan is also expected to speak about the feud with her family on her father Thomas’ side after This Morning host Holly Willoughby said that Oprah’s team had been in contact with ITV for footage of an interview with her half-sister.

In the January 2020 broadcast Samantha Markle said the former Suits actress and Harry owed her and their father an apology for ‘incredibly wrong, untoward, and shocking’ behaviour after the royal wedding in 2018.

Ms Willoughby said: ‘Oprah Winfrey’s team contacted This Morning requesting footage from our interview with Samantha Markle in preparation for the interview with the Duchess of Sussex’. 

She added: ‘So, we don’t know whether or not they used that in the interview, but what we do know is nothing was off limits.’

Yesterday war hero burns victim Martyn Compton, who has known Harry for 15 years, said he hopes his friend’s decision to build a new life for himself, Meghan and Archie in Los Angeles will be ‘worth it for him’.

But Mr Compton hinted he can understand why the Queen has cut him loose, saying: ‘I guess it comes down to you can’t be a royal and cash in on it – and the royal family have said that, which is why everything had happened’.

Mr Compton, who was speaking to ITV’s Lorraine, is  a former British soldier from the Household Cavalry Regiment who suffered his injuries after an RPG set his vehicle alight in Afghanistan.

Last week he said his friend, who calls a ‘genuinely nice bloke’, may come to ‘regret’ his decision to step back from his royal responsibilities. 

When asked about the Queen’s decision to ensure Harry is forbidden by tradition from wearing full military regalia after suffering the bitter blow of losing his honorary appointments with the Armed Forces, Mr Compton said: ‘It’s a big ordeal for him to be able to do that – but he’s obviously looking out for his family.’

When asked if Harry would wish things were different, he said: ‘I guess it comes down to you can’t be a royal and cash in on it – and the royal family have said that which is why everything had happened.’

He added: ‘I’ll watch it [the Oprah interview] out of interest of what’s been said, but yeah it’s going to be a big thing that comes out and there’s obviously a reason why he’s done it by himself.’

Mr Compton was in hospital for a year after he suffered horrific burns to 75 per cent of his body when his armoured vehicle was blown up by a Taliban in 2006.

He was then shot twice in the leg as he scrambled away from the burning wreckage.

As he lay on the ground, his colleague Corporal Of Horse Andrew Radford thought he was an enemy soldier and raised his rifle to shoot him.

But CoH Radford realised his mistake just before he squeezed the trigger and dashed through enemy gunfire to carry his comrade to safety.

On their return to the UK, Lance Cpl Compton lay in a coma for three months and his saviour was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his heroics.

Mr Compton has scars all over his body but with some help from a leading surgeon in Harley Street, and has dedicated himself to raising money for charity since his recovery.

Paying tribute to Harry he said: ‘He does a lot for military charities. It comes back to the sort of guy he is. He’s just a normal, caring guy who just so happens to be a royal. He’s supported me in various charities and ventures I’ve done.’

His friend Prince Harry will now be forbidden by tradition from wearing full military regalia after suffering the bitter blow of losing his honorary appointments with the Armed Forces.

With the duke no longer returning as a working member of the Royal Family, his honorary roles, such as Captain General of the Royal Marines, will be returned to Her Majesty before being redistributed among other senior royals.

Harry, 36, will be prevented – if only by tradition – from wearing full military regalia. Should he attend a Remembrance Sunday event he could wear his medals and a regimental beret but not a uniform.

Garments he should no longer wear are understood to include the Blues and Royals frockcoat worn on his wedding day in May 2018 and the Royal Marines dress uniform he wore to the Royal Albert Hall in March 2020, shortly before he stepped down as a senior royal.

His former commander General Lord Dannatt paid a glowing personal tribute to Prince Harry, saying his heart would always be with Britain’s military community even though he may never be seen in uniform again.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail Lord Dannatt, a former head of the UK’s Armed Forces, sounded a defiant note on his behalf after the prince’s 16 years of service.

He said: ‘It was a privilege to have enjoyed Prince Harry’s comradeship during the years that he has served his country in uniform. As we say, ‘You can take someone out of the Army, but you can never take the Army out of them’.

‘I am sure the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines and the Royal Air Force would say the same. I have no doubt that this will be Prince Harry’s emotion.

‘The announcement from Buckingham Palace is welcome in so far as it clears the air about the Duke of Sussex’s future intentions. I fully respect and support the decision that he has made in the best interests of his wife and growing family.

‘The military community will miss his official connections and contributions but I am in no doubt that he will continue to support our serving and veteran soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in a private capacity, especially through the Invictus Games and service charities.’

Back in 2005 Prince Harry, then aged only 20, climbed the ornate steps of the Old College at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) to begin his officer training. It was widely remarked in the following years that the Army became his family.

He subsequently served his country with distinction on the frontline in Afghanistan, both as a soldier on the ground and later as a helicopter pilot.

After Sandhurst Prince Harry commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry, in 2006. A debate soon began about whether he could deploy with his unit to Iraq.

As he was not directly in line to the throne many senior army figures thought he should go. Eventually the Ministry of Defence, after drawn-out discussions with Buckingham Palace, was persuaded that he would be a high profile target whose presence would endanger those deployed with him.

Lord Dannatt then personally arranged for Prince Harry to serve in Afghanistan. He struck a deal with media outlets for them not to report his presence in return for interviews to be published and broadcast on his return. The deal held for ten weeks, allowing Harry to experience the brutal realities of warfare.

He served as a Forward Air Controller with a desert reconnaissance unit. In doing so he became the first member of the Royal Family to serve on the frontline since Prince Andrew took part in the Falklands War in 1982 as a helicopter pilot.

While Lord Dannatt offered Prince Harry his best wishes, he also sounded a note of caution as the Duke of Sussex starts a new chapter in his life.

He added: ‘Prince Harry will have had to weigh up very carefully everything that was important in his life. Although he cares deeply for the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines that he has served with and our veterans, especially those who have been wounded, his priority is with his wife and growing family.

‘I fully respect and support the very difficult decision that he has had to make.

‘I wish him well for the future and know that his heart will always be with the British military.’

On his return to the UK from Afghanistan Prince Harry was advised to retrain as a helicopter pilot should he wish to go back to the conflict – though secretly few senior officers expected him to pass the necessary selection tests.

But he defied their low expectations, qualifying as an Apache helicopter co-pilot and gunner. He returned to Helmand Province in September 2012 with the Army Air Corps and duly completed a four-month operational tour.

Harry then focused on veterans’ welfare and helped set up the Invictus Games, a version of the Paralympics for injured military personnel, before retiring from the Army in June 2015.

In December 2017, Harry accepted the role of Captain General of the Royal Marines from his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, who had served in this capacity for a remarkable 64 years.

The prince made a number of visits to the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) in Lympstone, Devon, and to Norway where Marines practise arctic warfare.

It has been speculated that the Captain General’s role could pass to Prince William or the Princess Royal. Harry will also relinquish his roles as honorary commandant of RAF Honington and Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Navy’s Small Ships and Diving.