‘Prince Harry should shut his mouth… he just doesn’t get America’: American Pie singer Don McLean on his $11 million divorce, his young model girlfriend – and why the ‘show horse’ prince should learn some manners
Don McLean didn’t hold back in his criticism of Prince Harry as he said the Duke of Sussex “just doesn’t get America”. Harry issued a number of attacks in his memoir, Spare, most of which were aimed at the Royal Family. However, he also didn’t have anything good to say about his time spent in Elvis Presley’s Memphis mansion, Graceland.
Describing his visit, Harry wrote: “Dark, claustrophobic. I walked around saying, ‘The King lived here, you say? Really?'” He added: “The King’s interior designer must have been on acid.” Don was furious with Harry’s comments and slammed him on social media at the time, with the American Pie singer now bringing the feud back up.
At the time, Don took to Twitter to say: “‘Prince’ Harry should shut his mouth about Graceland and Elvis. He is a hot house orchid, a show horse who never did a thing.” Now, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Don said: “He doesn’t understand that Elvis is like the poor man’s king. He came from nowhere and his recordings are among the greatest ever made.”
He added: “His family were as poor as they could be and Harry criticised Elvis’ home as if he’s comparing it to Buckingham Palace, and that misses the point completely. Here’s a fellow who has been brought up to be mannerly, but you don’t criticise America when you’re living here as our guest.”
Don then slammed the Duke of Sussex and said he “just doesn’t get America.” Don’s comments come after Harry changed his primary residence from the United Kingdom to America on official paperwork. The paperwork related to Travalyst, his sustainable travel initiative. The paperwork was backdated to June 2023, when he and Meghan Markle were officially evicted from Frogmore Cottage.
Harry was previously asked if he would consider applying for American citizenship during an interview with Good Morning America. Host Will Reeve asked: “Do you feel American?” Harry responded: “Do I feel American?” before answering in one word… “No.” “I don’t know how I feel,” he added. The host then went on to ask Harry what would stop him from applying for American citizenship. He replied: “I have no idea. I’m here standing next to these guys. The American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind, but certainly not something that is a priority for me right now.”
