Prince Harry's Biography

Who is Prince Harry?

HRH Prince Henry of Wales better known as Prince Harry was born on 15 September 1984. Harry is the son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana and the brother of Prince William.

Third in line to the throne, Prince Harry's mother Princess Diana died when he was just three weeks away from his 13th birthday.

Prince Harry studied art and geography at Eton. When he was 17, his father, the Prince of Wales, sent him to meet recovering addicts at a drug rehabilitation centre, after there was evidence of Harry smoking cannabis and drinking under-age.

Prince Harry has had altercations with the paparazzi. He got involved in a scuffle with a photographer outside a nightclub. He also became the centre of media attention when he was photographed at a party sporting a swastika at a fancy dress party.

Prince Harry later said of the incident:

"Maybe it was a sign of my own immaturity. That was then, this is now.

"I am becoming 21 - something like that I will never do again. It was a stupid thing to do. I think it's part of growing up."

On the other hand, the publicity has not been all bad. There was a documentary about Prince Harry's work on aid projects in Lesotho.

Prince Harry has also followed in the footsteps of Princess Diana spending time with people with HIV, Aids and TB.

In May 2005, Prince Harry began his career in the Army at the Sandhurst Military Academy in Surrey, where he is referred to as Officer Cadet Wales.

On his 21st birthday in September 2005, Prince Harry confirmed that the Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla Parker Bowles) was "a wonderful woman and she's made our father very, very happy, which is the most important thing ... William and I love her to bits."

Prince Harry also described his girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, the daughter of a Zimbabwean game reserve owner, as 'amazing'.

In February 2006 the Army suggested that Prince Harry would serve in Iraq with his Blues and Royals regiment. There was a subsequent debate about the security implications, but nevertheless on 30 April 2007, the BBC reported that Prince Harry would be deployed to Iraq with his regiment.

However, on 16 May 2007, the Army made a volte-face, with Chief of the General Staff General Sir Richard Dannatt making a statement, saying:

"I have decided today that Prince Harry will not deploy as a troop leader with his squadron ... There have been a number of specific threats - some reported and some not reported - which relate directly to Prince Harry as an individual. These threats expose not only him but also those around him to a degree of risk that I now deem unacceptable ..."

Prince Harry, who led a troop of 12 men, would have been the first senior royal to serve on the front line since Prince Andrew in the Falklands in 1982.

On the tenth anniversary of Princess Diana's death, Prince Harry delivered a tribute to his mother.

In February 2008, it emerged that Prince Harry had been fighting the Taleban on the front line in Afghanistan, with the British media having agreed not to reveal the news.

However, Prince Harry returned to the UK after the news blackout of his presence in Afghanistan broke, leading to worries that he would become a target of the Taleban.

In October 2008, it was announced that Prince Harry is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Prince William by becoming a helicopter pilot.

In April 2010, Prince Harry passed the Army pilots' course.

In 2012, Prince Harry qualified as an Apache helicopter pilot, and was awarded a prize for best co-pilot gunner.

In 2016, Prince Harry issued a statement criticising the media for intruding into the private life of his girlfriend, Suits actress Meghan Markle.

On 27 November 2017, the engagement of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle was officially announced.

Their marriage took place on Saturday  19 May 2018 at St George's Chapel in Windsor, where Prince Harry was christened and Meghan Markle was baptised.

In October 2018, it was announced that The Duchess of Sussex (as Meghan had now become) was pregnant with her first child.

On 6 May 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had a baby boy.

On 8 January 2020, Harry and Meghan issued a statement in which they said:

"We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen."

Harry and Meghan went to live in America and in 2020 they made a deal to make shows for Netflix.

In December 2022, they were featured in a documentary series on Netflix, Harry & Meghan.

In January 2023, Harry released his autobiography Spare.

In December 2023, Prince Harry won 15 claims in his case accusing Mirror Group Newspapers of unlawfully gathering information for stories published about him.

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