Background

Harry was born on September 15, 1984 in St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London as the second child of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. Prince Charles is the heir apparent to the British throne, eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, duke of Edinburgh. Princess Diana was one of the most adored members of the British royal family and is remembered as the "People's Princess" because of her widespread popularity and global humanitarian efforts. Harry was baptised at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on December 21, 1984. His mother who described him as "very artistic and sporty" preferred to give her children "as normal a life as possible". She took them to places like McDonald's and Disney World and also to shelters for homeless and to AIDS clinics. His parents divorced in 1996 and the following year on August 31 his mother died in Paris after suffering injuries in a car crash. On September 6, 1997, at age 12, he walked behind his mother’s coffin in her funeral cortège from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey accompanied by his father, brother and other relatives amidst thousands of people who gathered to bid good-bye to "the people's princess”.

Education

Prince Harry began his education at Mrs Mynors Nursery School in west London aged 3. In September 1989, he joined his elder brother Prince William at the pre-prep Wetherby School, also in west London, until he joined Ludgrove School in Berkshire in 1992.

Harry went on to Eton College from September 1998 where he took his GCSEs and A Levels. The decision to place Harry at Eton went against the Windsor family convention of sending children to Gordonstoun (Harry's grandfather, father, two uncles, and two cousins all attended). Harry followed in the Spencer family footsteps, as both Diana's father and brother attended Eton. During his time at Eton, he was House Captain of Games and represented the school at rugby, cricket and polo, and was a member of the Combined Cadet Force. He left Eton in 2003 with A Level results that qualified him to fulfill his ambition to join the Army. But before doing so, Harry spent a gap year travelling to Australia, Argentina and Africa, where he made a documentary “The Forgotten Kingdom“ about the plight of orphans in Lesotho.During his teenage years, he gained a reputation for being somewhat of a party animal. He was caught under-age drinking, smoking cannabis and infamously dressing up as a Nazi at a fancy dress party. Worried by his tendency to ill-discipline, he was encouraged to join the army. Instead of going to university, Harry entered Sandhurst—Britain’s leading military academy for training army officers - in May 2005. He was commissioned an officer in April 2006.

Career

Prince Henry began his military career as an Officer Cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in May 2005 and after successfully completing his training course, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals).

He went on to serve with the British Armed Forces for ten years, where he undertook two operational tours of Afghanistan, the first between 2007 and 2008 as a Forward Air Controller. Shortly after returning to the UK, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant with The Household Cavalry. In February 2007, it was announced that Harry’s army regiment would be deployed to Iraq, but, on advice from the armed services, it was decided that neither Harry nor William would serve with Britain’s forces in Iraq, for fear that they would become specific targets of attack and so put their fellow soldiers at excessive risk. However, in December 2007 Harry began serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan after the British media agreed to not publicize details of his service; his tour ended in February 2008 after foreign news outlets reported his deployment.

Prince Harry began training as an Army Air Corps Pilot in 2009. Following the completion of his Army Pilot's Course he was selected to train as an Apache Pilot and began the 18-month Apache training course, during which he was awarded the prize for best Co-Pilot Gunner. He became a fully operational Apache Attack Helicopter Pilot in February 2012. At the end of 2012, he undertook his second tour of duty to Afghanistan, this time as an Apache Pilot, returning at the beginning of 2013. In July 2013, he qualified as Apache Aircraft Commander.

In early 2014 the Prince completed his attachment to the Army Air Corps and transferred to a Staff Officer role in HQ London District, where he helped organize the inaugural Invictus Games in London – an international adaptive sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women. In 2014, Prince Harry created and helped organize the first Invictus Games in London. They use the power of sport to inspire recover, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect of all those who serve their country. The inaugural Invictus Games held in London saw over 400 competitors from 13 nations compete in nine adaptive sports, and has since been hosted in Orlando, Florida with Games planned for 2017 and 2018 respectively.

In March 2015, Kensington Palace announced that after a fulfilling military career, Prince Harry would leave the Armed Forces holding the rank of Captain. During his final weeks, he spent time seconded to the Australian Defence Force attached to various units in Darwin, Perth and Sydney to gain an appreciation of the Australian Army's domestic operating environment and capabilities.

Prince Harry remains closely connected with the Armed Forces through his role as Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation. He is passionate about promoting the welfare of those who are serving or who have served their country in the Armed Forces. On December 19, 2017, he succeeded his grandfather Prince Philip as the Captain General of the Royal Marines. On his wedding day May 19, 2018, he wore the uniform of a Major of The Blues and Royals.

Prince Harry attaches great importance to his role in the Royal Family's public service to the UK and around the Commonwealth. In 2005, Harry was appointed a Counsellor of State and began his duties in that capacity. In 2006, he was in Lesotho to visit Mants'ase Children's Home near Mohale's Hoek, which he first toured in 2004 and, along with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, he co-founded the charity Sentebale with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in memory of their mothers (Sentebale means ‘Forget me not’): The Princes' Fund for Lesotho, a charity to aid children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. He has granted his patronage to organizations including WellChild, Dolen Cymru, and MapAction.

He works in support of the Queen and the Royal Family through his program of charitable work, and public duties, including carrying out engagements in the UK and official tours overseas. Throughout his career, Prince Harry has combined his Royal and charitable duties alongside his public service work, formerly serving in the Armed Forces for 10 years.

Prince Harry undertakes a number of Royal duties in support of, and at times on behalf of, the Queen. He represents Her Majesty at events in the UK and abroad, as well as attending state and ceremonial occasions alongside other members of the Royal Family. These include helping welcome a visiting Head of State to the UK and celebrating the Queen's official birthday at Trooping the Colour.

Harry plays a lead role in moments of national Remembrance, by laying a wreath at the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph in Central London, and also attending significant services across the UK, Europe, Realms and the Commonwealth. In the summer of 2016, Prince Harry joined other members of the Royal Family at commemorative events in France to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme.

Prince Harry has carried out a number of overseas visits, including to Realm and Commonwealth nations on behalf of the Queen. He also represents the UK's interests overseas at the request of the Government. His official duties have seen Prince Harry visit all seven continents. A keen sportsman himself, Prince Harry regularly represents the Royal Family at major national sporting events, to reflect the nation's support. Alongside the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, was an Official Ambassadors for Team GB and Paralympic GB in the lead up to, and during, the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.

Harry joined forces again in 2014 to showcase their support at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Tour de France Grand Depart in Yorkshire. And due to his involvement with the Rugby Football Union, Prince Harry was asked to be President of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

At the end of the Queen's 90th birthday year, in 2016, Her Majesty stepped down as Patron from a number of national organisations – Prince Harry was pleased to take on patronage of the Rugby Football Union and Rugby Football League, having been Vice Patron of the union since 2010. Harry regularly attends England matches at Twickenham and supports the work of the RFU and its charities.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex combine a program of charitable activity alongside his public service in support of the Queen, undertaking official engagements in the UK and overseas.

Prince Harry is Patron of a number of organizations and spends the majority of his charitable work focusing on the welfare of servicemen and women, championing developmental opportunities for hard to reach children and African conservation.

Alongside his brother and sister-in-law, he is also Patron of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. The Royal Foundation provides additional investment, mentoring, support and partnerships for these programs, and lends its own profile and leverage to enhance the effect of their good work.

In 2017, the Duke of Sussex spearheaded the Heads Together mental health campaign with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, leading a coalition of eight mental health charity partners to change the national conversation on mental health. The campaign aimed to build on existing progress nationwide in tackling stigma, raising awareness, and providing vital help for people with mental health problems.

It has been reported in the press that the Prince is going to get a formal position in the Commonwealth bureaucracy.

In 2018, Harry became a patron of Walk of America, a campaign which brings together a number of veterans to start up a 1,000-mile expedition across the US in summer 2018. In April 2018, the Prince was appointed the president of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust, which focuses on projects involving children and welfare of prisoners.

Achievements

• 

  Prince Harry spent ten years working in the Armed Forces, ending operational duties in 2015. During his service, he conducted two tours of duty to Afghanistan with the British Army. This means that he become the first royal in more than 25 years to serve in a war zone. However when news of such duty was flashed in an Australian magazine, Prince Harry was called back. Harry was awarded several medals for his military service in Afghanistan that included patrolling in hostile regions and aiding the Brigade of Gurkhas in driving back Taliban insurgents. He is a qualified Apache helicopter pilot. Since May 2018, he has been appointed the Squadron Leader of the Royal Air Force.
  
  Prince Harry is actively engaged in various charity activities. He is the patron to many organizations and charities like HALO Trust, WellChild, Walking With The Wounded and the London Marathon Charitable Trust. The most notable part of Harry's charity work is his founding and chairing of the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style international competition for injured ex-service personnel.He remains patron of its Foundation. In 2006, he jointly founded Sentebale, a charity to help orphans in Lesotho, Southern Africa. Harry has twice had his charitable efforts recognized by the international community. In December 2010, the German charity Ein Herz für Kinder ("A Heart for Children") awarded him the Golden Heart Award, in recognition of his "charitable and humanitarian efforts". On 7 May 2012, the Atlantic Council awarded him its Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership Award.
  
  Harry was a constant presence at the London 2012 Games, during which he was an Olympic ambassador. In 2018, Harry was selected as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" by Time magazine.

Views

Having served in the British Army for ten years, Harry is passionate about promoting the welfare of those who are serving or who have served their country in the Armed Forces.He has campaigned to raise awareness of the ongoing challenges facing service personnel making the transition to civilian life. In particular, he has worked to bring wider public attention to the support that wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women need through their entire rehabilitation process. That includes long-term support for each person and their family for both physical and mental injuries.

His work in this area has seen the Prince take part in a number of projects and initiatives, including volunteering with the Army's Personnel Recovery Unit in London, trekking with wounded servicemen and women to the South Pole and in the Arctic, supporting a number of adventure challenges through his Endeavour Fund, and organizing the Invictus Games. The Invictus Games is an international adaptive sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veteran. The Games use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect of all those who serve their country. The first Invictus Games were held in London in 2014 followed by Orlando, Florida in May 2016. The next games will be held in Toronto in 2017, followed by Sydney in 2018. Harry believes that every child should be given the opportunity to fulfill their potential, regardless of their background or situation. Through a program of public and private visits, he regularly supports projects that enable children from disadvantaged backgrounds to build their skills and confidence.

Harry is a keen sportsman and sees the potential to use sport in the engagement and education of children and young people. Alongside his brother, The Duke of Cambridge and sister-in-law, The Duchess of Cambridge, he has worked with his Foundation to build a model that improves the availability and quality of sports coaching in schools and communities. The "Coach Core" program helps train young people as professional sports coaches while they are still in education. It also aims to improve the quality and availability of sports coaching and mentoring in inner city schools whilst creating employment at a time when many young people are facing long term unemployment.

Through his work with younger people, many of whom fall out of mainstream education, Harry believes in the importance of mentoring schemes. He has visited many projects around the world that highlight the positive impact of children's mentoring opportunities. In the UK, he is closely involved with a program based in Nottingham that works with young people to deter them from becoming involved in youth violence and gang-related activities. Supported by his Foundation, the program trains a group of young people as youth leaders, providing them with formal qualifications and apprenticeships in mentoring and leadership, while at the same time supporting primary school children, who are at most risk of becoming involved in youth violence, by working with their schools and families.

In 2006, Harry jointly founded Sentebale, a charity to help orphans in Lesotho, southern Africa. Having visited the small African nation after completing his school education, he was moved by the plight of children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic which has devastated the country. Together with his great friend Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, he set up Sentebale to offer long-term support to community organizations working with children and young people, and in particular to those working with orphans.

Having visited southern Africa a number of times, the Prince has taken a deep personal interest in frontline conservation projects that work to protect Africa's natural heritage and support both wildlife and local communities. On leaving the Army in 2015, he spent three months working on number of such projects in Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa and Botswana. During that time he worked closely with conservation experts to learn about environmental education programmes and also spent time with a team of rangers in Kruger National Park, South Africa, who are the first to respond to reports of poaching attacks on Elephant and Rhino.

In addition to supporting charities and organizations, Prince Harry– like his brother and The Duchess of Cambridge - is able to direct his own philanthropic work through The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. The Royal Foundation develops programs and charitable projects based on the interests of Their Royal Highnesses by working with organizations which are already making a proven impact in their respective fields. The Royal Foundation provides additional investment, mentoring, support and partnerships for these programs, and lends its own profile and leverage to enhance the effect of their good work.

In 2017, Harry spearheaded the Heads Together mental health campaign with The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, leading a coalition of eight mental health charity partners to change the national conversation on mental health. The campaign aimed to build on existing progress nationwide in tackling stigma, raising awareness, and providing vital help for people with mental health problems.

The team of charities covered a wide range of mental health issues that are close to The Duke and Duchess and Prince Harry's passions. They were: Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families; Best Beginnings; CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably; Contact (a military mental health coalition); Mind; Place2Be; The Mix; YoungMinds.

Quotations: In characterizing the significance of the Invictus Games, Harry said: "These Games have shone a spotlight on the “unconquerable” character of service men and women and their families and their “Invictus” spirit. These Games have been about seeing guys sprinting for the finish line and then turning round to clap the last man in. They have been about teammates choosing to cross the line together, not wanting to come second, but not wanting the other guys to either. These Games have shown the very best of the human spirit".

He has named himself "the Funcle" (that's "Fun" "Uncle", for those of you wondering) of Prince George.

In an interview with NBC News, Harry said he would never stop wondering about the night that his mother died and what happened in that tunnel.

When commenting on the Las Vegas naked picture scandal, Prince Harry said that "at the end of the day I probably let myself down, I let my family down, I let other people down," but also that "I was in a private area and there should have been a certain amount of privacy that should have been expected."

"Kate (Middleton) is the sister I've always wanted."

On his role as a helicopter gunner in Afghanistan: "Our job out here is to make sure the guys are safe on the ground, And, if that means shooting someone who is shooting at them, then we will do it."

"Conversations with my mother, father, my grandparents, as I've grown up have obviously driven me towards wanting to try and make a difference as much as possible."

"For me personally, as I said, I want to serve my country. I've done it once, and I'm still in the army, I feel as though I should get the opportunity to do it again."

On his infamous Nazi outfit episode: "I am very sorry if I caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologise."

"I get a huge buzz from spending time with kids."

Membership

Prince Harry is the patron to many organizations and charities like HALO Trust, WellChild, Walking With The Wounded and the London Marathon Charitable Trust. In 2009, he along Prince William established The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry to advance their charitable endeavours. He is the founder and patron of Sentebale, patron Dolen Cymru, MapAction, WellChild. Member of White's Club, Turf Club, Cavalry and Guards Club.

• Founder and patron

  Sentebale , United Kingdom

  2006

• Dolen Cymru , United Kingdom

  2007

• MapAction , United Kingdom

  2007

• WellChild , United Kingdom

  2007

• White's Club , United Kingdom

• Turf Club , United Kingdom

• Cavalry and Guards Club , United Kingdom

Personality

After the passing of his mother Princess Diana he began acting out in ways that the Royal Family thought were inappropriate. At one point he was caught smoking pot. As a way of deterring him from further sullying the Royal Family's name, his father Prince Charlestook him to a drug rehab facility to show him the consequences of what can happen if you start on drugs.

The prince has sometimes fallen foul of the press, whose attention has been a constant part of his life.

An early upset involved Harry smoking cannabis. St James's Palace confirmed in January 2002 that the then 17-year-old had "experimented with the drug on several occasions" but said the use was not "regular".

In October 2004, there was a scuffle with a photographer outside a club.

A royal spokesman said at the time that the 20-year-old prince "was hit in the face by a camera when photographers crowded around him".

"In pushing the camera away, it's understood that a photographer's lip was cut," the spokesman added.

He sparked much controversy and was dubbed "Harry the Nazi" by The Sun newspaper after tastelessly wearing a Nazi uniform with a swastika armband to a costume party in early January 2005. This was especially controversial as Harry, being a member of the British Royal Family, is of course of German descent due to Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Harry's great-great grandfather was King George V, whose cousin was Kaiser Wilhelm II. There is also much controversy about his grandmother's uncle, Duke of Windsor, and the nature of his connection to Adolf Hitler.

Clarence House later issued a statement saying: "Prince Harry has apologised for any offence or embarrassment he has caused. He realises it was a poor choice of costume."

And in 2009, Harry apologised for using offensive language to describe an Asian member of his Army platoon after video footage of the incident emerged.

St James's Palace said the prince was "extremely sorry for any offence his words might cause" but said he had "used the term without any malice and as a nickname about a highly popular member of his platoon".

There was further difficulty for the prince when a former art teacher at Eton claimed she had done some of Harry's A-level coursework - allegations later rejected at a tribunal.

Physical Characteristics: Harry started losing his hair when he was 26.

Interests

• Polo, rugby, skiing, off-road motor biking.

Connections

On May 19, 2018 Harry married Meghan Markle - a divorced American actress, daughter of an African American mother and a white father - whose informal approachability and irrepressible personal warmth were reminiscent of the much beloved Diana, remembered as the “People’s Princess.” The ceremony was held in the medieval St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle but was unlike any previous royal wedding. Traditional British pomp and circumstance mixed with elements of African American culture, including the singing of the rhythm-and-blues classic “Stand by Me” by a gospel choir and an impassioned sermon in the tradition of the black church about the redemptive power of love, delivered by Michael Bruce Curry, the first African American presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church.

The couple, whose union reflected the changing social landscape of an increasingly multicultural Britain, seemed determined to modernize the monarchy and to connect it with the lives of everyday Britons. The guests inside the chapel included members of the British aristocracy, icons of British popular culture (Sir Elton John, David Beckham), and American entertainment royalty (Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, and Serena Williams), but the couple also had invited some 1,200 individuals who had worked as volunteers for charitable organizations to occupy “ringside seats” on the grass outside St. George’s.

Father:

Charles, Prince of Wales

Mother:

Princess Diana of Wales

grandmother:

Elizabeth II

Brother:

William Arthur Philip Louis Windzor

Wife:

Meghan Markle

References

• Harry: A Biography of a Prince
• Harry: Life, Loss, and Love - Kindle edition by Katie Nicholl. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
• Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance: A+E Studios: Amazon Digital Services LLC
• Princes of the Palace: Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Prince William, Prince Phillip: Amazon Digital Services LLC
• Prince Harry: The Inside Story
• Prince Harry: Brother, Soldier, Son
• Prince Harry: Frontline Afghanistan: Richard Bacon, Darren Kemp, Richard Grange
• ROYAL BIOGRAPHIES VOLUME 2: Harry and Meghan - 2 Books in 1 eBook: Katy Holborn: Kindle Store