He has a royally handsome appearance – and he gets paid for it.
Rhys Whittock, 39, looks like Prince Harry – a lot in order that he works as a skilled doppelgänger, sometimes earning 4 figures a day.
Harry 2.0 signed with a doppelganger agency in 2017 after being stopped on the road for years by random individuals who told him he looked like a prince.
Although he has enjoyed a fairly stable profession other than his royal looks. Whittock admits he was upset when Harry decided to depart the monarchy in 2020 along with his wife Meghan Markle – he was nervous it could affect his livelihood.
Nevertheless, the eerily similar-looking prince is getting more attention than ever.
“I was a little concerned that it was the tip of my job,” North Kent’s Whittock told SWNS. “But it surely quickly became clear that they’d remain within the media and public domain.”
Despite moving to the States, pending lawsuits for the Duke of Sussex, a book launch and an appearance on the coronation have kept Whittock busy for the past few years.
“Without a doubt [Harry and Meghan are] more within the highlight than ever before,” he joked, confirming that the business was booming.
After signing with the agency, he traveled all over the world, working in a number of roles, including television commercials, private parties, and even British news reenacting the Duke’s appearances at court – sometimes earning over $1,000 a day.
“I love this job,” he joked. “I’m very lucky to appear like one among the loudest men on the planet.”
His regal appearance even earned him several awards – in 2018, he won the EasyJet “Best Prince Harry lookalike in Europe” competition, which was the start line for working with a lookalike.
A few of his high-profile events included a private billionaire birthday celebration in Macau, China, in 2018, and a TV industrial in Tel Aviv, Israel, in early 2020.
Whittock and his fiancée, 26-12 months-old Maria Bogatyreva, are big fans of the royal family and hope to satisfy them one day
“On the age of 13, I went to see Trooping the Color in London and sometimes watched the changing of the guard,” said the royal enthusiast. “I’ve all the time been a huge fan of the royal family.”
Whittock says all of the publicity – including Harry’s recent appearance in court to testify in a case where it’s claimed Mirror Group Newspapers hacked his phone – is nice publicity.
“It’s great to be involved in such a big story. It’s a great technique to show that to the general public with transcripts from the courts,” he said. “It’s a very authentic way of portraying it.”
“But so long as Harry is within the headlines, that is all the time good for me since the interest stays high,” he added. “I think Harry is a very brave man who stood as much as the British press and stood up for his beliefs.
Nevertheless, there are some differences between him and a member of the royal family.
“I’m a 12 months older than Harry,” Whittock joked. “I actually tell people he’s MY double because I came first!”