In 2010, Prince Harry was in the middle of planning a bachelor party for his older brother, Prince William, when the Mirror reported that Harry had invited Snoop Dogg to perform at a “low-key but fun” party featuring “mini-burgers, fish and chips.” He was unable to attend, but soon thereafter the rapper staged his own royal party in the music video for the 2011 song “Wet,” where the Cataracts, a producing duo, played the role of the princes. (In a tweet at the time, he said he hoped it would be the soundtrack for the “stag-do.”)

It seems that interaction might have actually sparked a friendship. “Harry and William are my boys,” Snoop Dogg told the Mirror this week. “As soon as I knew they were fans I reached out to them, and we’ve been cool ever since. I look out for them and they can reach out to me whenever they want they know that. I look out for them, and they can reach out to me whenever they want.”

He also praised Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, for the bravery behind their royal exit. “​​I said Prince Harry had big balls when he didn’t invite [Donald] Trump to his wedding,” the rapper said, referencing a 2018 interview where he discussed their guest list. “And now, for real, I say he’s got an even bigger set of balls. Him and Meghan are living their lives like they want and that can’t be an easy thing with the whole world judging them. They got to live life their way —they get a lot of respect from me for that.”

Snoop also invited the pair, who live outside of Los Angeles, to his home for Thanksgiving. “If they want to come over for Thanksgiving dinner they are in for something special. They can come over to Snoop’s crib,” he said.

In 2013, the rapper, born Calvin Broadus Jr., told the Guardian that he thought Harry and William connected with his music as a form of rebellion. “I wanna shoot a shout-out to my homeboys in London: the princes, Harry and William. You know I raised them on this music of mine. They were groomed on me,” he said. “I’m a part of their revolt. They were at that age when my music spoke to them.”

Though Snoop was not a guest at Meghan and Harry’s wedding, there were rumors that some of his music was played in the late-night hours of the couple’s wedding reception. In an interview after the wedding, Idris Elba, who DJed at the party, would neither confirm nor deny that Snoop Dogg was on the Meghan-supplied playlist, adding that “there was some West Coast on it.”

— Met Gala 2021: See the Best-Dressed Stars on the Red Carpet
— The Trials of Diet Prada
— Emmys 2021: See All of the Red-Carpet Looks
— Anthony Bourdain’s Longtime Director and Producer Releases Memoir
— The 2021 Met Gala’s American Theme Winners: Who Did It Best?
— Inside the Hermès Workshop That Makes Its Iconic Bags
— Love Is a Crime: Inside One of Hollywood’s Wildest Scandals
— The Best Beauty Moments From the 2021 Emmys
— Ted Lasso: How to Dress Like Keeley and Rebecca
— From the Archive: Influencers on the Coast of Utopia
— Sign up for “The Buyline” to receive a curated list of fashion, books, and beauty buys in one weekly newsletter.