Fans braved cold temperatures in New York City this week to be in the "Late Show" audience during a live taping of Prince Harry's interview with Stephen Colbert.
But when they entered the Ed Sullivan Theater, the estranged duke of Sussex was nowhere to be found.
Colbert broke the news to the audience that the show had taped the Prince Harry interview a day earlier, citing security reasons, and apologized for the surprise, the Daily Mail reported.
"Are you serious," one audience member reportedly called out during the apology. Some had traveled across the state to attend the taping.
"Late Show" recordings, which are typically filmed earlier on the same day they air, last about two hours and include a warm-up routine with the host. However, adding insult to injury, the Tuesday audience members got an abbreviated one-hour shoot, the Daily Mail said.
Harry's "Late Show" appearance, which aired Tuesday evening, is the most recent stop on his tour to promote his new memoir, "Spare," which gives readers a look into the British royal family's drama. The book also came out Tuesday.
During Harry's nearly 40-minute sit-down with Colbert, in front of what appeared to be a separate audience, the prince dropped several buzzworthy moments, including his admission that he watches (and "fact-checks") the Netflix series "The Crown."
Harry also addressed criticism about a portion of his book where he talks about killing 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan while fighting for the British Army. The claim had been criticized by both the Taliban and British military veterans.
In the interview, Harry refuted reports that he "boasted" about the number of people he killed, calling that accusation "the most dangerous lie" that put him and his loved ones in danger.
Colbert reminded viewers that Harry's actions in battle had been previously reported, pulling out a 2013 Reuters report where the prince was quoted as saying, "Yes, we fire when we have to, take a life to save a life."
Further explaining why the detail made the book, Harry said he hoped to address the shame veterans feel about their violent actions in battle, and to reduce the number of suicides.
"I made a choice to share it because having spent nearly two decades working with the veterans around the world, I think the most important thing is to be honest and be able to give space to others, to be able to share their experiences without any shame, and my whole goal and my attempt with sharing that detail is to reduce the number of suicides," Harry said, drawing a roaring round of applause from the crowd.
———
