Prince Harry

Prince Harry, Chelsy Davy party until dawn post-wedding. Forget the Pippa Middleton hook-up jokes:

Prince Harry

Prince Harry

Prince Harry

 "The Happy Prince" for always smiling, lately Prince Harry
Prince Harry

Prince Harry
 Prince Harry

Prince Harry

Prince Harry

Prince Harry

Prince Harry


Prince Henry of Wales (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984), commonly known as Prince Harry is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and fourth grand-child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Prince Henry of Wales (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984), commonly known as Prince Harry,[2] is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and fourth grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. As such, he is third in the line of succession (behind his father and elder brother) to the thrones of sixteen independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Consequently, he is also third in line, again behind his father and elder brother, to the position Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

After an education at various schools around the United Kingdom and spending parts of his gap year in Australia and Lesotho, Harry, unlike his elder brother, Prince William, eschewed a university education in favour of following in the footsteps of various royal men by enrolling in the military. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry Regiment—serving temporarily with his brother—and completed his training as a tank commander. He served for 77 days on the front line in the Afghan War,[3] although he was pulled out following publication of the story in an Australian magazine.[4]Harry was born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, England, on 15 September 1984, weighing 6 lb 15oz. He was baptised at St George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle, by then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. Harry's godparents were Prince Andrew (his paternal uncle); Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (his paternal cousin); Lady Vestey; Mrs. William Bartholomew; Bryan Organ; and Gerald Ward.[5]

Persistent suggestions, based on a similarity of hair colour, have been made that Harry's father is not Charles but James Hewitt, with whom Diana had an affair. However, red hair is known to be a Spencer family trait, and Hewitt stated to the press in 2002 that Harry had already been born by the time his affair with Diana began, a statement corroborated by Diana's police bodyguard.[6][7]

    There really is no possibility whatsoever that I am Harry's father. I can absolutely assure you that I am not...I can understand the interest but Harry was already walking by the time my relationship with Diana began. Admittedly the red hair is similar to mine and people say we look alike. I have never encouraged these comparisons and although I was with Diana for a long time I must state once and for all that I'm not Harry's father. —James Hewitt[8]

Diana wanted William and Harry to have a broader range of experiences than previous royal children and took both to venues that ranged from Disney World and McDonald's to AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless.[9] Diana, Princess of Wales, who was by then divorced from the Prince of Wales, died in a car collision in 1997. Harry, his brother and their father were staying at Balmoral Castle at the time, and the Prince of Wales waited until early the following morning to tell his sons about their mother's death.[10] At his mother's funeral, Harry accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather, and maternal uncle in walking behind the funeral cortège from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.[11]Like his father and elder brother, Harry was educated at public schools, starting at Jane Mynors' nursery school[12] and the pre-preparatory Wetherby School, both in London. Following this, he attended Ludgrove School, and, after passing the entrance exams, was admitted to Eton College, where he studied geography, art history, and art at A-Level. The decision to place Harry in Eton went against the family tradition of sending royal children to Gordonstoun (Harry's grandfather, father, two uncles, and two cousins all attended); it did, however, make the Prince follow in the Spencer family footsteps, as both Diana's father and brother had attended Eton.[9] In June 2003, he completed his education at Eton with two A-Levels, obtaining a B in art, and a D in geography,[13] having decided to drop history of art after AS level.[14] He excelled in sports, particularly polo and rugby union.[citation needed].

After graduation, Harry took a gap year, during which he spent time in Australia, working (as his father had done in his youth) on a cattle station and participating in the Young England vs Young Australia Polo Test Match.[15] He also travelled to Lesotho, where he worked with orphaned children and produced the documentary film The Forgotten Kingdom[9] and holidayed in Argentina.[citation needed]Prince Harry began to accompany his parents on official visits at an early age; his first overseas royal tour was with his parents to Italy in 1985.[16] The earlier decision made by the Princess of Wales to take an infant William to Australia set the precedent for young royal children going on official visits.[9] Harry then accompanied either both parents or his father on subsequent tours, though he did not begin solo official engagements until after his military training and active service. In August 1995, at the age of 10, Prince Harry attended the 50th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day at the Cenotaph in London. There he saluted the officers in the military parade, one of the most important ceremonies in the royal family agenda. In 2008, he began to undertake royal visits to schools and organisations in Wales.[17]The British Ministry of Defence and Clarence House made a joint announcement on 22 February 2007 that Prince Harry would be deployed with his regiment to the front line in Iraq, to serve as part of the 1st Mechanised Brigade of the 3rd Mechanised Division – a move supported by Harry, who had stated that he would leave the army if he was told to remain in safety while his regiment went to war;[20] he said: "There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country."[21] Then head of the British army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, first said on 30 April 2007 that he had personally decided that the Prince would serve with his unit in Iraq,[22] and Harry was scheduled for deployment in May or June 2007, to patrol the Maysan province.[23] By 16 May, however, Dannatt announced that Prince Harry would not serve in Iraq;[24] concerns included Harry being a high-value target (as several threats by various groups have already been made against him) and the dangers the soldiers around him would face should any attempt be made on the Prince's life or capture. Clarence House made public the Prince's disappointment with the decision, though he said he would abide by it.[25] In May 2007, British soldiers in Iraq were reported to be wearing t-shirts bearing the statement "I'm Harry!"; a reference to the scene in the movie Spartacus in which the survivors of Spartacus's army, defeated by Roman legions, are offered leniency by Crassus if they will identify their leader. Every survivor declares: "I'm Spartacus!"[2It was reported, in early June 2007, that Prince Harry had arrived in Canada to train, alongside soldiers of the Canadian Forces and British Army, at Canadian Forces base Suffield, near Medicine Hat, Alberta. It was said that this was in preparation for a tour of duty in Afghanistan, where Canadian and British forces were participating in the NATO led Afghan War;[27] rumours that were confirmed in February the following year, when the British Ministry of Defence revealed that Harry had secretly been deployed as a Forward Air Controller to Helmand Province in the Asian country.[28] The revelation came after the media – notably, the German newspaper Bild and Australian magazine New Idea[29][30] – breached the blackout placed over the information by the Canadian and British authorities.[31] It was later reported that, while in Afghanistan, Harry had called in United States Air Force air strikes,[32] helped Gurkha troops repel an attack from Taliban insurgents,[33] and performed patrol duty in hostile areas.[34] His tour came 735 years after his ancestor, Edward I of England (then Prince Edward), had also been on military duty in the Middle East during the Ninth crusade,[35] and also made Harry the first member of the Royal Family to have served in a war zone since his uncle, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, flew helicopters during the Falklands War; at the time, Andrew was second in line to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms. For his service, Prince Harry was decorated with the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan by his aunt, the Princess Royal, at the Combermere Barracks in May 2008.[36]In October 2008, the news was revealed that Prince Harry was to follow his brother, father, and uncle with the wish to fly military helicopters. After passing the initial aptitude test, he was to undertake a month-long course; depending on whether or not he passed that course he would proceed onto full flight training in early 2009.[37] Harry had to pass his flying assessment at the Army Air Corps Base (AAC), Middle Wallop, the result of which determined if he would pass on to train as a pilot of either the Apache, Lynx, or Gazelle helicopter.[38]

Prince Harry was presented with his flying brevet (wings) by his father, on 7 May 2010 at a ceremony at the Army Air Corps Base (AAC), Middle Wallop. Prince Harry had also let it be known that he intended to fly Apache attack helicopters if he was successful in passing the rigorous Apache training course; after which time it could be possible for him to see active military service once again on the frontline in one of the warzones.[39] During the ceremony, he switched his Blues and Royals' Officer's Service Dress cap for that of the Army Air Corps' sky blue beret with a Blues and Royals badge.

On 10 March 2011, it was revealed that Prince Harry had passed his Apache flying test and he was awarded his Apache Flying Badge on 14 April 2011. There is speculation that he shall return to Afghanistan once again before the withdrawal in 2015. On 16 April 2011 it was announced that Prince Harry had been promoted to the Army rank of Captain after having held the rank of Lieutenant since 2008.[40]

In June 2011, Clarence House announced that Prince Harry on completion of his training conversion course to use Apache helicopters in the war arena would be available for deployment, including in current operations in Afghanistan in his role as an Apache helicopter pilot. The final decision will ultimately rest with the Ministry of Defence's senior commanders including principally the Chief of the Defence Staff in consultation with the wishes of Harry, his father the Prince of Wales and The Queen.[41]




Prince Harry attended the same schools as his brother, Prince William. He started at Mrs Jane Mynors' nursery school in London from September 1987, when he was three.

In 1989 Prince Harry joined Prince William at Wetherby School, moving to Ludgrove School in Berkshire in September 1992.

Like Prince William, Prince Harry attended the VE and VJ commemorations in London in 1995. In November 1997 he accompanied The Prince of Wales to South Africa, where he was able to go on safari before joining his father at a concert featuring the Spice Girls and meeting President Nelson Mandela.

Prince Harry walked behind the cortege of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, at her funeral in Westminster Abbey on 6 September 1997, accompanied by his brother, father, grandfather and uncle.

In 1998 both young Princes were with The Prince of Wales in Canada, for brief public appearances and a skiing holiday in Whistler, British Columbia. Like his brother, Prince Harry is a keen skier.

In September 1998 Prince Harry started at Eton College, Windsor.

On 2 January 2000, Prince William and Prince Harry accompanied The Prince of Wales on a visit to Cardiff. They heard rap music and dance as well as hymns and readings in Welsh and English at the Tabernacl and joined 60,000 people for a special edition of the BBC's Songs of Praise at the Millennium Stadium.

Prince Harry celebrated his 18th birthday on 15 September 2002. To mark the occasion, Her Majesty the Queen gave the Prince his own unique Coat of Arms.

In 2003 Prince Harry left school at Eton College with A Levels in Art and Geography.


Prince Harry