Prince Harry of Wales Biography

Summary

"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 his first wife, the late Diana, Princess of Wales. A grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, he is third in the line of succession to the thrones of the United Kingdom and the other fifteen Commonwealth realms, behind his father and his older brother, Prince William.

He holds the rank of Lieutenant in the Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry of the British Army. Harry was a tank commander, trained to lead a 12-man team in four armoured reconnaissance vehicles. After the decision not to send him to Iraq, he retrained as a battlefield air controller, the job he performed in Afghanistan. He was serving on the front line in Afghanistan although he was pulled out on 29 February 2008 after the world media found out about his presence there and the British authorities became concerned for his safety and the safety of those around him. He had served in Afghanistan between 14 December 2007 and 29 February 2008, for a total of 77 days.

Harry's full title is "His Royal Highness" Prince Henry of Wales, although he is commonly referred to as "Prince Harry". As a prince, he does not need a surname (which would be Mountbatten-Windsor, if needed). Like his brother William, however, Harry often uses 'Wales' in place of a surname when required.

Early life

Family

Prince Harry was born on 15 September 1984 as "Henry Charles Albert David" at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, in central London, England, and was christened on 21 December of the same year 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.

Education

Harry attended Mrs. Jane Mynors's nursery school in West London, as did William. 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 obtaining a B in Art and a D in Geography. At school, he developed his love of sport, particularly polo and rugby union. The Prince has shown a keen interest in 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, like his father before him, 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

As a serving soldier, Prince Harry currently has no official Royal Engagements. However, at the age of 23, and as third in line to the throne, he became eligible to serve as a Counsellor of State (first filling this role in 2005 when the Queen was on a state visit to Malta).

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; the name, "Sentebale" being a Sesotho word meaning forget-me-not, is meant to honour both princes' mothers: the 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 to make a return visit to Mants'ase Children's Home near Mohale's Hoek, which he visited in 2004 during his gap year.

Along with his elder brother, Harry spearheaded the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, on 1 July 2007. Attended by 63,000 people, and broadcast in 140 countries, the concert raised funds for charities such as the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, Centrepoint and Harry's own Sentebale.

Patronages, presidencies and chancellorships

As with any member of the Royal Family, Prince Harry is expected to take up honorary positions as patron, president or chancellor of charitable or academic institutions throughout the Commonwealth Realms. Prince Harry is currently patron of:

WellChild

Sentebale

Dolen Cymru

MapAction

Army

Prince Harry graduated as a newly commissioned officer at the Sovereign's Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in April, 2006. Currently ranked as a Lieutenant, he uses "Wales" as his surname, and is known in the army as Troop Commander Wales. The following month Prince Harry joined the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army, followed by training as a tank reconnaissance troop commander. That year Prince Harry was also appointed as one of nine new Commodores-in-Chief of the Royal Navy, alongside other members of his family, being appointed as Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving.

On 22 February 2007, the Ministry of Defence and Clarence House made a joint statement that Prince Harry would be deployed with his regiment in Iraq, to serve as part of the 1st Mechanised Brigade of the 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division, although this decision was later rescinded. The last member of the Royal Family to serve in a war zone was Prince Harry's uncle, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who flew helicopters during the Falklands War in 1982. At the time, Prince Andrew was second in line to the thrones of the Commonwealth Realms, although this changed to third on the 21 June, 1982, the birthday of Prince William and the day after the British Government declared hostilities to be over. According to a BBC news article, Prince Harry had made it clear that he would leave the army if he was left in safety while his regiment was sent to a war zone.

The head of the British army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, first said on 30 April 2007 that he had personally decided that the Prince will serve with his unit in Iraq. The Ministry of Defence had been considering whether the Prince should be exposed to a combat situation; concerns included the Prince 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 his life or capture. However, families of serving soldiers have expressed concern over any decision which would exempt Prince Harry from active service in Iraq. The Prince has been quoted as saying '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.' Although friends of the Prince have indicated that he would be 'disappointed' if he were not allowed to go, they are also quoted as saying he would not resign from the army in protest.

Harry was scheduled to leave for Iraq in May or June 2007, with the regiment becoming responsible for patrolling the Maysan province, trying to stop Iranian smugglers bringing hi-tech weapons across the border of desert and marshes. The province, known to Coalition forces as Iraq's 'Wild West', has been described as 'a dangerous wilderness that is being used by Iraq's Shia extremist groups as a testing ground for their latest explosive devices.' On 16 May, 2007, Dannatt, contrary to his previous remarks, announced 'I have decided today that Prince Harry will not be deployed to Iraq.' Clarence House subsequently issued a statement that 'Prince Harry is very disappointed that he will not be able to go to Iraq with his troop on this deployment, as he had hoped. He fully understands and accepts General Dannatt's difficult decision, and remains committed to his Army career. Prince Harry's thoughts are with his troop and the rest of the Battle Group in Iraq.'

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!'

By early June, it was being reported that Prince Harry, third in line to the Canadian Throne, had arrived in Canada to train, along with other soldiers of the Canadian and British Armies, at CFB Suffield, near Medicine Hat, for a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

On February 28, 2008, the Ministry of Defence stated that Prince Harry had secretly been deployed to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan, in Helmand Province as a Forward Air Controller. The Ministry of Defence had a deal with the media of the United Kingdom running to keep his whereabouts secret. The German newspaper "Bild" and the Australian magazine "New Idea" were the first to report rumours on January 7 2008, followed by a story on the American website the "Drudge Report" on February 28, leading to the confirmation by the British Ministry of Defence.

According to reports, the Prince's combat tour in Afghanistan began on December 14, 2007. Reports have also revealed that by February 29, 2008, the prince had called in at least three U.S Air Force F-15E air strikes. Other details of Prince Harry's combat experience have revealed that he had fired a machine gun at insurgent positions during a battle. In that battle, he helped Gurkha troops repel an attack of sixteen to twenty Taliban insurgents. He has also performed patrol duty in hostile areas. He was welcomed back to Britain by his brother and his father, who said he was 'incredibly proud' of his son. The Queen's senior courtiers also exclaimed that she viewed that 'Harry had performed a good job in a very difficult climate.'

Personal life

Prince Harry is thought to be an Arsenal FC fan along with his late great grandmother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.

Relationships

The media continue to speculate about any and all of Prince Harry's possible girlfriends. The Prince's best known romance has been with Chelsy Davy, a Zimbabwe-born white African 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, and by October that year it was reported that Davy had accepted an offer from the University of Bristol, which is from Highgrove, to study for a postgraduate degree in politics. Harry and Chelsy Davy were both seen together publicly at the Concert for Diana.

Chelsy is currently attending the University of Leeds and living in the U.K.

Costume controversy

At a party with the fancy dress theme 'Colonial and Native', Prince Harry wore a Nazi Party swastika armband, causing controversy and considerable embarrassment to his family. He later issued a public statement apologizing for his actions.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

"15 September 1984 - present:" "His Royal Highness" Prince Henry of Wales

Prince Harry is currently third-in-line for succession to the Throne (behind his father and elder brother). Should his father succeed to the throne he will be known as "His Royal Highness" The Prince Henry.

Surname usage

Under an Order-in-Council in 1960, the non-titled descendants of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were given the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, combining the dynasty name of Elizabeth and the assumed surname of Philip. However, although titled, the Queen's children have all decided to use the surname also in honour of their father. For their banns for their first marriages, both Harry's aunt, Anne, Princess Royal and his own father, Charles, Prince of Wales, used "Mountbatten-Windsor" rather than "Windsor". "Mountbatten-Windsor" is now treated as being the surname of all descendants of the Queen and the Duke except those, like the children of the Princess Royal, who have a new paternal surname (in that case, 'Phillips').

In the British Monarchy's website, it is stated that 'members of the Royal Family who are entitled to the style and dignity of HRH Prince or Princess do not need a surname, but if at any time any of them do need a surname, that surname is Mountbatten-Windsor.'

As with Royal Family tradition, both Prince William and Prince Harry used 'Wales' as a last name during his years of education. Harry's York cousins in turn use 'York' (other Royal Families also use their parents' title as their own working surname). Past precedent, however, is that such title-surnames are dropped from usage in adulthood, with either title alone or name and Mountbatten-Windsor being used on legal documents and banns of marriage.

Honorary military appointments

"2006-present": Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving

Honours and Military decorations

Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan

Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal

Arms

On his 18th birthday, his grandmother, Elizabeth II, granted Prince Harry his own personalised coat of arms, the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with a label for difference: "Quarterly, 1st and 3th Gules three Lions passant guardant in pale Or (England), 2nd Or a Lion rampant within a Double Tressure flory counterflory Gules (Scotland), 4rd Azure a Harp Or stringed Argent (Ireland), the whole differenced by a Label of five points Argent the first third and fifth points charged with an Escallop Gules".

Prince Harry's coat of arms has a label of five points, as the grandchild of the sovereign. The "escallops" (seashells) allude to his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, whose Spencer coat of arms includes three "escallops argent".