Prince Harry Biography

Prince Harry, best man for his brother, Prince William during his marriage to Catherine Middleton

(Henry Charles Albert David Mountbatten-Windsor; born September 15, 1984; commonly known as Prince Harry) is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and his first wife, the late Diana, Princess of Wales. He is third in the line of succession to the British Throne and the thrones of the other Commonwealth Realms, behind his father, and his elder brother, Prince William of Wales. He is a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Harry is a Cornet in the Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry of the British Army.

Birth and childhood

Prince Harry was born on 15 September 1984 at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, in central London, England. His father is Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His mother is the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in 1997, the former wife of the Prince of Wales. He has an elder brother, Prince William. His full title is His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales, although he is seldom referred to as anything but Prince Harry.

He was christened on 21 December 1984 at St. George's Chapel Windsor Castle by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie. His godparents were: his uncle the Duke of York, Lady Sarah Chatto, Lady Vestey, Mrs. William Bartholomew; the portrait painter, Mr. Bryan Organ; and Mr. Gerald Ward.

The prince's official family name is that of Windsor, according to his grandmother's royal proclamation of 1960, but some of the descendants of Queen Elizabeth II appear to utilize the surname Mountbatten-Windsor as personal preference.

Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

On 31 August 1997, Harry's mother died in a car accident in Paris, with her boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed. Her death came only a few days after she spent a holiday in northern France with William and Harry. The princes were staying at Balmoral Castle; it was Charles who awoke them and broke the news.

At Diana's funeral, their father, grandfather Prince Philip, and uncle (the Earl Spencer) walked behind Diana's funeral cortege from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. On Diana's coffin was a card from Harry, made out to Mummy. Cameras were barred from showing close-up images of the princes during the service itself. Both princes have been praised for their enormous show of strength on that day. During his eulogy, the Earl Spencer promised that the Spencer family would take an active interest in looking after Diana's children, although neither Harry nor William has seen much of him since then, or of Diana's mother before her death.

Education

Harry attended Mrs. Jane Mynors's nursery school in West London, as did William. In 1988, he attended Fun With Music, a music appreciation class conducted by Ann Rachlin. He later followed his brother to the Wetherby School, and later to Ludgrove School in Berkshire. He then attended Eton College located in Berkshire in 1998. In June 2003, he completed his education at Eton with two A-levels. In Geography he received a D, and in Art a B. At school, he developed his love of sport, particularly polo and rugby. The Prince has also shown a keen interest in skiing and abseiling. He has also participated in the Eton Wall Game.

After finishing Eton, Harry undertook a gap year, visiting Australia and Africa. In Australia, he worked on a cattle station, and watched the 2003 Rugby World Cup being held in the country. In Africa, he worked in an orphanage in Lesotho. Later in the year, he travelled to Argentina on holiday.

On 8 May 2005, the Prince entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. There, he was known as Officer Cadet Wales instead of using his royal title, and was part of Alamein Company.

Royal duties

In April 2006, Prince Harry launched a charity with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to aid children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The charity is named Sentebale: The Princes' Fund for Lesotho. Sentebale is a Sesotho word meaning forget-me-not. The name is meant to honour both princes' mothers: the former Princess of Wales, who died in 1997; and Queen 'MaMohato of Lesotho, who died in 2003. Prince Harry was in Lesotho to launch the charity and returned to Mants'ase Children's Home near Mohale's Hoek, which he visited in 2004 during his gap year.In 2006, Prince Harry was appointed as one of nine new Commodores-in-Chief of the Royal Navy, alongside other members of his family. Prince Harry was appointed as Commodore-In-Chief, Small Ships and Diving.

Prince Harry in Army

Prince Harry passed out as a newly commissioned officer at the Sovereign's Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in April 2006. He will continue to use Wales as a last name and is now known in the army as Cornet Wales.

In January 2006, Clarence House announced that Prince Harry would join the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry, and train as a reconnaissance troop commander. Since then, it was reported that he was expected to deploy to Iraq in May of 2007 as part of the 1st Mechanised Brigade of the 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division. The Blues and Royals would form part of the force patrolling the governorate of Maysan on the Iran-Iraq border.

Personal life & Girlfriends

As it does for his brother, the media continues to speculate about any possible girlfriends of Prince Harry, especially young women in his social circle, and sometimes those he meets in nightclubs. The Prince's best known romance has been with Chelsy Davy, a Zimbabwe-born heiress to an African ranching and real estate fortune. In an interview conducted for his 21st birthday in September 2005, Prince Harry referred to Davy as his girlfriend and the press reported that their relationship was at that time 18 months old, strongly contradicting reports they were no longer a couple. In July 2006, photos were published of the two kissing at the Cartier Polo International Tournament.

On 15 August 2006, The Sun released a picture of Prince Harry with his hands on the breasts of friend Natalie Pinkham, whom he was also pictured kissing. The Sun reported that this would imply that he was cheating on Davy. Commenting on this, Clarence House has said that the picture had been taken three years earlier. "We have contacted The Sun and asked them to make a correction. The pictures are three years out of date."

In October 2006 it was reported that Davy had accepted an offer from the University of Bristol, which is 27 miles from Highgrove, for a postgraduate degree in politics. However, the couple's relationship will suffer further separation when Harry is deployed to Iraq in May 2007, which is before Davy starts her Autumn Term. An article in a December 2006 issue of People stated that it is, "Putting the relationship to the test."

During his brother's marriage to Catherine Middleton, Prince Harry acted as best man