Rob Lowe claims Prince Harry has grown a ponytail

Rob Lowe has claimed British royal Prince Harry has grown a ponytail.

The West Wing actor lives close to the 36-year-old royal and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, but has rarely seen them since they moved to Los Angeles last year, so was shocked when he saw the "English treasure" driving his car alongside his earlier this week, and did a double-take when he saw his dramatic new look.

Speaking to James Corden on The Late Late Show, Rob said: "I just ran into your countryman, the English treasure, Prince Harry, at the stoplight 10 minutes ago.

"It was very, very quick - don't totally quote me on it - but it looked like he's wearing a ponytail. I'm just saying. It looked to me as a casual observer that his hair had grown very long and was pulled back very tightly by what I can only assume was a ponytail."

But the British presenter - who was a guest at Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018 - was unconvinced by Rob's tale and admitted he thought his guest had confused the royal with someone else.

He replied: "A ponytail? I'm certain that isn't true. Do you know what I think has happened? I think you didn't see Prince Harry."

However, the 56-year-old actor insisted he was telling the truth - because he followed Harry home to make sure he really had seen the prince.

"It was him because I have to say... I followed him to the house to see if the car went in," he insisted. "He lives about a mile from me. He's been very reclusive. Seeing him in the neighbourhood is like seeing the Loch Ness Monster, and I finally saw him. I finally saw him driving his car."

Harry - who has 20-month-old son Archie with his wife - was last seen in a promotional video for Netflix in early December in which he had the same short hairstyle he's worn for years.