Royal fans online have pointed out that Prince Harry's enthusiastic running style "hasn't changed" since he was 5 years old after two side-by-side clips from the 1980s and 2010s have gone viral on the social media platform TikTok.
The video, showing an adult Harry participating in a running race with brother Prince William and sister-in-law Kate Middleton, as well as the royal as a child during a school field day with Princess Diana, has been viewed over a million times since being uploaded to TikTok on Sunday, leaving fans mystified.
Posted by user striker6916, the viral video has received in excess of 50,000 likes and over 200 comments from fans voicing admiration for the royal. It can be viewed here.
"These 2 posts came up separately it was uncanny how Harry's running style hasn't changed. [heart emojis]," reads the video caption.
"This is the cutest," wrote one user, with another adding: "Harry beating everyone without even trying."
As well as praise for the prince, a number of commenters discussed the touching moment where Princess Diana hugs her youngest son at the end of his field day race.
"Oh how his mommy picks him up [pleading face emoji]," said one poster, joined by another who wrote: "I love the way Diana picks him up, it's so beautiful it warms my heart."
@striker6916 These 2 posts came up separately it was uncanny how Harry’s running style hasn’t changed. ❤️💔 #harryandmeghannetflix #harryandmeghan#thedukeofsussexprinceharry #princessdiana ♬ when the party's over - Billie Eilish
Princess Diana attended a number of her children's school sporting events from field days to soccer matches, even on occasion displaying her own athletic prowess taking part in parents' races.
A series of social media videos showing the princess at various school races went viral earlier this year as the 25th anniversary of her untimely death in a 1997 Paris car crash was marked on August 31.
Though there was no official royal commemoration of the anniversary, both Princes William and Harry paid tributes to their mother throughout the year, including Harry stating his wish that the day be filled with "memories" and wishing that his two children Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, could have met their grandmother.
The first clip in the viral video shows Harry, William and Kate Middleton participating in a relay race against each other in 2017 ahead of the London marathon.
The royals took part to raise awareness of their Heads Together mental health initiative, with the two brothers in hot competition to outrun each other. Harry ultimately beat William to the finish line, with cameras capturing them joking with one another afterwards.
Harry has an established interest in sports and sports charities. In 2014 the royal launched the first Invictus Games in London, a sporting event designed to promote the mental and physical skillsets of ex-servicemen and women. Launching the games, the prince said: "I have witnessed first-hand how the power of sport can positively impact the lives of wounded, injured and sick Servicemen and women in their journey of recovery."
The sixth Invictus Games will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany, in September 2023.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
