Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson admitted he has 'always liked' the duke

A music icon has offered a candid assessment of Prince Harry, questioning whether his "down-to-Earth" persona was "pretend".

Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson revealed to Hello this week that, while he has always enjoyed the Duke of Sussex's company, he remains uncertain about one key aspect of his character.

"I've met him a few times and I've always really like him," Mr Wilson told the magazine.

Yet the 48-year-old musician admitted he could not be entirely sure whether Harry's front was authentic.

"I don't know whether he's pretending to be down to earth or he is down to earth," he said, before jovially adding: "I'm pretending to be a rock star. God knows in this household I'm not."

He added that people of a certain fame level know what their fans want, explaining: "They're very good at being exactly what you want them to be. [Harry] was very good at that, and he made me feel like I was his friend."

Mr Wilson also recounted a memorable moment to Reach after Harry attended one of the band's concerts and the singer snapped a selfie with him. The duke's parting instruction was unequivocal: "As he was leaving, he said, 'Don't put that anywhere'."

The singer quipped: "I'm not going to risk my MBE by putting up a picture."

Beyond his encounters with Harry, Mr Wilson spoke warmly of the wider Royal Family.

He described visiting Buckingham Palace alongside comedian Leigh Francis, recalling the experience with evident fondness.

"We were very respectful, I remember going in and being in awe," he said. "I love the Royal Family, I think they're great."

He added: "I know it's probably an unpopular view to have, especially someone with my political leanings, [but] I defy anyone, even the biggest anti-royalists, not to be put in a room with a royal and be dead polite."

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The Kaiser Chiefs star joked that meeting the royals is "like a default setting, you start bowing and curtsying, and you don't even know why, I like it."

Harry's character was similarly praised by Britain's Got Talent winner Sydnie Christmas over the weekend.

The 31-year-old pop star performed at David Foster's charity gala in Canada, where Harry and Meghan were present to support their music mogul pal.

Evidently, the performance, which included her rendition of Tomorrow, from the film Annie, and Frank Sinatra's My Way, left the duke aghast.

He immediately made his way towards her as she came off the stage, admitting that he had "felt that in the back of my throat", before breaking royal protocol by pulling the singer into an embrace.

In a later Instagram post that captured the two conversing, which the singer described as "an absolute pinch me moment", Ms Christmas described the prince as "the most loveliest soul".