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American Morning

Prince Harry's Visit to Phoenix House

Aired January 14, 2002 - 09:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to turn to the latest royal scandal in Britain. This morning, they are calling him" His Royal High-ness" and "Harry Pot-ter" It's all about the younger son of Britain's Prince Charles.

Prince Charles is getting some royal raves for apparently nipping his youngest son's drinking and pot smoking in the bud. After confessing his drug and drinking binge to his father last year, the now 17-year-old prince, Prince Harry, was reportedly sent to a rehab clinic in London to hear firsthand the dangers of drug abuse.

Bill Puddicombe is the chief executive of Phoenix House. He joins me now from London. Thank you very much for being with us, sir.

BILL PUDDICOMBE, PHOENIX HOUSE: It's a pleasure.

ZAHN: What can you tell us about Prince Harry's visit to Phoenix House?

PUDDICOMBE: The Prince of Wales is our patron, and we had a phone call from his office, asking, at the prince's request, if we could set up a visit for Prince Harry to come to one of our rehabilitation services in south London. Prince Harry duly arrived. He spent some time speaking with the people who were living there at the time. Talking with them about the program that they were going through.

He saw some of their art work and talked with them about some of the realities that that was reflecting on the page, and then he spent a little while talking to people who've had long-term experience of addiction to heroin and cocaine. And were in the final stages of recovery.

ZAHN: What kind of impact did those conversations seem to have on him?

PUDDICOMBE: Well, he handles himself extremely well. And that, combined with British reserve, means that it would be difficult to say. But, we know from our experience, that people who spent a while at our treatment centers and talk with people about their lives and what addiction has meant for them, come away with a very strong sense of what can -- of the bad things -- a very large number of bad things -- that can happen to you when a drug starts controlling you.

ZAHN: To your knowledge, did he admit to anybody that he was there because he had tried marijuana and done some binge drinking?

PUDDICOMBE: No. What we understood was that we were hosting the visit. And it was a piece of responsible parenting by the Prince of Wales in order to show his son the kind of work that we do and the consequences of drug use.

ZAHN: So, when you got your call, as you described it, from your patron early on, no one said what was the real reason behind this visit?

PUDDICOMBE: No. We were -- we were just -- were hosting the visit at the request of the prince. We didn't know about the current news story until yesterday, like everybody else.

ZAHN: And I know you said that the prince had the opportunity to talk to a number of people at the Phoenix House. Did they give you any feedback at all on what they thought about the questions he asked and how he seemed to deal with this visit?

PUDDICOMBE: He was certainly actively interested in what goes on at the center. And the main thing that people came away with, was great liking for him. He was -- he was very relaxed and friendly with the people there, and they warmed to him a great deal. I think it's a great support for people who are going through recovery to get interest from public figures, such as Prince Harry.

ZAHN: And I know that Prince Charles is getting a great deal of public support right now in his own country for making this move. How commonplace is it for a parent in your country to ask that his child visit the Phoenix House to make them understand what the ravages of drug use are or can be?

PUDDICOMBE: Right. I mean, I wouldn't like you to think that that's a common practice. It's unusual. But, I think in the circumstances, because of the prince's work with our organization and his support for us, that he recognized that from what he's heard from people when he visited our centers, that this was an opportunity to give Prince Harry some insight into what drugs can do for people.

ZAHN: And once again when Prince Harry came, did he arrive alone?

PUDDICOMBE: He was with officials from the Saint James' Palace and with his protection officer. So he was able to talk with people in a fairly confidential environment. He wasn't accompanied by a member of his family.

ZAHN: Any talk of a repeat visit by the prince to your facility?

PUDDICOMBE: There hasn't been, no. And, as we read in the press, it appears that the visit did have an effect for him, which we are pleased to hear. So, and we're pleased to welcome him back as a visitor anytime he'd like to come.

ZAHN: Well, you do great work in your country and in our country, as well. It's very important work that you do, and thank you for sharing a little bit of -- of Prince Harry's story with us this morning.

Bill Puddicombe, again, we appreciate your time.

PUDDICOMBE: Thank you.

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