In a surprising revelation from his memoir, Prince Harry has detailed how he came within hours of getting his first tattoo during his now-infamous 2012 trip to Las Vegas, only to be physically threatened by friends who vowed to stop him.
The Spontaneous Decision
The Duke of Sussex recounted in his book Spare how, after a day of heavy drinking during the Las Vegas getaway, he decided he needed a permanent memento to commemorate the experience. "I need something to commemorate this trip, I decided," Harry wrote. "Something to symbolise my sense of freedom, my sense of carpe diem. For instance…a tattoo? Yes! Just the thing!"
A Meaningful Design
Harry had already settled on both the location and design for his proposed tattoo. He planned to have the African nation of Botswana inked on his foot, describing the country as his "second home" and choosing what he considered the perfect spot for this permanent tribute to his sense of liberation.
Friends Intervene
The royal's plans were swiftly derailed when he informed his friend Billy the Rock about his intention. "He smiled. No way," Harry recalled. His other friends immediately backed up this opposition, promising to physically prevent him from going through with the tattoo.
"They promised to hold me down, knock me out, whatever it took," Harry wrote. "A tattoo is permanent, it's forever! Their arguments and threats are one of my last clear memories from that evening. I gave in. The tattoo could wait till the next day."
The Vegas Context
This tattoo discussion occurred during what would become one of Harry's most notorious public incidents. The trip, which began with the group checking into a suite and dining "like kings" at a steakhouse, descended into the infamous strip pool game that made global headlines.
Photographs of Harry playing what was described as "strip billiards" with a young woman appeared on US website TMZ, creating a media storm that forced the prince to issue a public apology. "At the end of the day I probably let myself down, I let my family down, I let other people down," he said at the time.
Reflection and Aftermath
Reflecting on the entire episode, Harry suggested his behaviour represented "probably a classic example of me probably being too much Army and not enough prince." The tattoo that never happened remains one of the more curious what-if moments from that period of his life.
While the Duke of Sussex isn't believed to have any tattoos on his body, this revelation shows how close he came to getting permanent ink during a trip that already generated significant controversy. The intervention of his friends prevented what would have been a lasting physical reminder of that particular Las Vegas adventure.
