London, June 22: No member of Britain's royal family is keen to take the crown from the Queen, her grandson, Prince Harry, has suggested in an emotional interview.

"We are involved in modernising the British monarchy," he said.

"We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people.... Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen?" he wondered.

He provided the answer himself by saying: "I don't think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time."

Harry's comments, made in a long interview his advisers decided he should give to America's Newsweek magazine, will cause some surprise because it has long been thought that his father, Prince Charles, now 68, has sometimes shown signs of impatience.

Not that Charles wants his mother to pass away, but Queen Elizabeth, now 91, has been on the throne for over 64 years, making her the nation's longest serving monarch.

Incidentally, her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, 96, went home to Buckingham Palace today after a two-night stay in hospital.

Unlike some of the crowned heads of Europe, the Queen has always made it clear she does not believe in the concept of abdication.

Harry and his elder brother, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, are 32 and 35 respectively, and have won much praise by speaking candidly about mental health issues arising from the loss of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, when they were children.

Englishmen no longer have to put on a display of "stiff upper lip", they have said.

The magazine recalled the events of 1997: "It is one of the most poignant images of mourning in modern times, and perhaps one of the cruellest: a 12-year-old Prince Harry, head bowed and fists clenched, marching in the funeral procession behind his mother's coffin. He, along with his older brother, his father, his grandfather, and his maternal uncle, Charles Spencer, walked slowly through the heart of London on September 6, 1997. Seven days earlier, the beautiful, charismatic and unpredictable Princess Diana had died in a car crash in Paris. She was 36."

"My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television," Harry remembered. "I don't think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances," he declared. "I don't think it would happen today."

The prince readily admits that he was scarred by his mother's death, and "was adrift for decades", the magazine says. "He ran with a wealthy, fast set, and smoked and drank too much. He also once wore Nazi clothing at a fancy dress party and was photographed in 2012 partying naked in Las Vegas, with scantily clad women. He was the world's most eligible bachelor-and a royal pain".Harry revealed he wanted to be "something other than Prince Harry".

In April, he revealed that bottling up his grief over his mother's death led to two years of "total chaos," and that he was "very close" to a breakdown several times. When he was 28, on William's advice, he sought professional help.

"My mother died when I was very young," he repeated. "I didn't want to be in the position I was in, but I eventually pulled my head out of the sand, started listening to people and decided to use my role for good."

The prince can be fiercely protective of his girlfriend, American actress Meghan Markle.

One person close to the prince told the magazine that Harry was not rushing to "get things done"- royal-speak for proposing.

Did the prince ever worry that affecting an "ordinary" lifestyle might make the royal family too accessible and take away its mystery?

"It's a tricky balancing act," he conceded. "We don't want to dilute the magic....The British public and the whole world need institutions like it."

One of the many things Harry is eager to "get on with" is an overhaul of the British monarchy - he, William and Kate appear determined to drag it into the 21st century," Newsweek said.

"The monarchy is a force for good," Harry commented, "and we want to carry on the positive atmosphere that the Queen has achieved for over 60 years, but we won't be trying to fill her boots."

According to Newsweek, Harry is determined to break the stigma surrounding mental health issues, it claimed. This is something he, William and Kate are doing with the support of the British government.

He confessed that his charity efforts have enabled him to work through some of his own issues.

He appeared to speaking about himself when he remarked: "I believe a leopard can change its spots."