Lead: At BravoCon 2025 over the weekend, Lisa Vanderpump made a pointed remark about Prince Harry while recounting an anecdote during a panel. The exchange, relayed by actor Jerry O’Connell about his wife Rebecca Romijn encountering Harry on a flight, included Vanderpump’s quip that she is a “loyal Brit” and implied the duke is not. The comment drew attention because of Harry’s highly publicized move to the United States and ongoing scrutiny of his relationship with the royal family. The moment was brief but highlighted how transatlantic celebrity culture intersects with public views of the monarchy.
Key Takeaways
- Event: Comment occurred at BravoCon 2025 and was reported in media on November 16, 2025.
- Participants: Lisa Vanderpump (British-born reality figure), Jerry O’Connell (panel participant), Rebecca Romijn (mentioned as encountering Harry).
- Quote: Vanderpump characterized herself as a “loyal Brit” and suggested Prince Harry is not, in a short onstage quip.
- Context: Harry and Meghan announced plans to divide time between the U.K. and North America in their 2020 public statement; they currently live in Montecito, California.
- Family: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are parents to Prince Archie (age 6) and Princess Lilibet (age 4) as of 2025.
Background
Lisa Vanderpump is a London-born restaurateur and television personality who relocated to the United States in the 2000s with her husband, Ken Todd. She is a long-standing figure on Bravo programming, and BravoCon is an annual fan and industry convention that gathers cast members, producers and viewers for panels and appearances. Over the past seven years Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been the subject of sustained media attention following their marriage in 2018 and the couple’s decision, announced publicly in 2020, to reduce senior royal duties and spend more time in North America.
Their 2020 announcement framed the change as a desire to balance family life with public roles, and it produced sharp public debate on both sides of the Atlantic about duty, privacy and the monarchy’s modern role. Celebrity events such as BravoCon can amplify casual remarks, turning a brief joke or anecdote into a broader conversation about identity, loyalty and public expectations. Vanderpump’s British background and continued public identification with the U.K. help explain why a comment about a member of the royal family would resonate with her fan base.
Main Event
During a Saturday panel, Jerry O’Connell recounted a flight story involving his wife, Rebecca Romijn, and Prince Harry. According to O’Connell, Romijn was on a plane that included the Duke of Sussex, and she later noticed Vanderpump seated two rows behind her. Vanderpump used the anecdote to make a light-hearted dig, saying she is a loyal Brit and implying Harry is not, prompting laughter and applause in the room.
The exchange was brief and delivered in the conversational tone typical of convention panels, where cast members trade stories for entertainment. There was no indication of an extended back-and-forth between Vanderpump and others about the royal family, and no direct response from Prince Harry or his representatives at the event. Media outlets picked up the remark because it tied a high-profile celebrity panel to the ongoing public narrative around Harry’s role since relocating to California.
Audience reaction appeared mixed in social reporting: some attendees and fans treated the remark as part of light banter, while others framed it as another example of the wider scrutiny Harry faces in public life. The moment did not produce any official statement from Vanderpump clarifying intent beyond the panel context, nor did it spark any immediate institutional response from royal channels.
Analysis & Implications
Vanderpump’s comment illustrates how celebrity conventions can become venues for cultural commentary, even when the intent is jocular. In a post-2018 landscape where the Sussexes have been both criticized and defended in different media pockets, a remark that questions loyalty taps into pre-existing narratives rather than creating a new controversy. For Vanderpump, the joke aligns with her public persona as a British transplant who often references her heritage on American television.
For Prince Harry, the incident is another small episode within a much larger public record of scrutiny since the family’s move to the United States. While a single quip at a fan convention is unlikely to change public opinion materially, it contributes to ongoing impressions about how public figures are perceived across national audiences. Repeated media moments like this can cumulatively influence discourse, particularly on social platforms where clips and soundbites circulate quickly.
From a reputational standpoint there is asymmetric risk: Vanderpump’s comment is framed as humor at a private-panel setting and likely carries limited lasting consequence for her career on Bravo, whereas members of the royal family operate under a different set of institutional expectations and may receive disproportionate attention for comparable remarks. Strategically, the episode underscores how informal celebrity stages serve as accelerants for long-running media narratives about identity, duty and belonging.
Reactions & Quotes
“Well, I’m a loyal Brit. He isn’t, right?”
Lisa Vanderpump (at BravoCon 2025, as reported)
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (public 2020 announcement, paraphrased)
“She found herself on the same aircraft as the Duke of Sussex,”
Jerry O’Connell (recounting Rebecca Romijn’s anecdote)
Unconfirmed
- Whether Vanderpump intended the remark as a calculated political statement rather than light stage banter remains unconfirmed.
- Details about the flight anecdote (exact timing, seating arrangements) were provided secondhand onstage and have not been independently verified.
- There is no confirmed official reaction from Prince Harry or his spokesperson specifically addressing Vanderpump’s comment.
Bottom Line
The exchange at BravoCon 2025 was a brief, onstage quip by Lisa Vanderpump referencing Prince Harry’s change in role since his move to the United States. While the remark generated media attention, it fits within a pattern of intermittent celebrity commentary that taps into broader debates about the Sussexes’ public choices and the monarchy’s evolving role.
Observers should treat the incident as a small cultural moment rather than a substantive development in royal affairs: it underscores how informal celebrity platforms can amplify narratives, but it does not, on its own, alter institutional realities. Future appearances and statements by either party will determine whether such moments accumulate into a larger reputational effect.
Sources
- TMZ — entertainment news report summarizing the BravoCon exchange (media).