Prince Harry is the second son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Princess Diana. He seems to have taken the place of his mother in the tabloids, shocking the public with his teenage escapades and shows of cultural insensitivity. He served in Afghanistan and was promoted to Captain in 2011 after holding the rank of Lieutenant since 2008. He is involved in many charitable causes.
Family Life
British royalty. Born Henry Charles Albert David on September 15, 1984, in London, England. As the second son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, Prince Harry is third in line to the English throne, behind his older brother William. He has grown up under intense media scrutiny, having his personal tragedies as well as his antics and gaffes as the subject of numerous news reports.
His mother once described Prince Harry as "very artistic and sporty." At an early age, he developed an interest in riding and hunting. While the family lived in Kensington Palace during the week, they often spent the weekends at Highgrove House, their family's estate in Gloucestershire. Their mother strove to give both her sons "as normal a life as possible" despite their privileged position in British society. To this end, Prince Harry attended Mrs. Mynors nursery school in London's Notting Hill neighborhood. Princess Diana also took Prince Harry and his brother to amusement parks, fast-food restaurants, and other places frequented by other children their age.
Growing Up Under the Spotlight
Photographers were on hand as his parents dropped Prince Harry off for his first day at school in September of 1987. According to Ingrid Seward's William & Harry, the young prince had a difficult time adjusting to school initially. Despite his parents' increasingly strained marriage, he became known for his happy-go-lucky disposition as a child. Prince Harry also developed an interest in all things military as he matured.
In 1989, Prince Harry enrolled at the Wetherby School, where his older brother William was already a student. He then followed his brother to the Ludgrove School, a boarding school in Berkshire, in 1992. Around this time, he was reportedly informed of his parents' impending separation, which was officially announced that December. The couple divorced in 1996.
After the separation, Prince Harry and Prince William spent their school holidays dividing their time between their parents. They spent time at Highgrove with their father, enjoying outdoor pursuits, as well as going on official trips and vacations abroad. With their mother, they engaged in a variety of activities from going on tropical holidays to visiting AIDS clinics and homeless shelters.
Mother's Tragic Death
Prince Harry remained at Balmoral for several days after his mother's death, mourning in seclusion with his family. He then traveled to London with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and his brother, to prepare for Princess Diana's funeral. On September 6, Prince Harry walked past thousands of people who had gathered to say good-bye to the woman many had dubbed "the people's princess." He trailed behind his mother's coffin in the funeral procession along with his brother, father, and grandfather, Prince Phillip.
After the service, Prince Harry and other family members traveled to Althrop, his mother's family estate in Northampton owned by his uncle Charles, the 9th Earl of Spencer. His mother's body was laid to rest on an island in the middle of a lake on the grounds there.
Struggling with this tremendous loss, Prince Harry suffered from nightmares about his mother's death for a time, according to Christopher Andersen's Diana's Boys. He returned to Ludgrove a short time after the funeral. During his next school break, Prince Harry traveled with his father to Botswana and South Africa. The trip lifted his spirit and gave him a chance to mingle with the members of the pop group Spice Girls during a concert there.
Teenage Challenges
Back at school, Prince Harry faced some academic challenges. It was decided that he would spend an extra year at Ludgrove before applying Eton College. All of his extra efforts paid off, he passed the entrance exam with flying colors. He began his studies there in 1998.
That same year, Prince Harry and Prince William demonstrated their cheeky sense of humor with a surprise 50th birthday party for their father, which featured some comedy sketches poking fun at Prince Charles. Actors Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, and Emma Thompson were all part of the act. Around this time, the princes also met their future stepmother Camilla Parker Bowles—the woman that their father had been involved with on and off for years.
Like some other teenagers, Prince Harry liked to party. He reportedly engaged in underage drinking—sometimes at a pub and at Highgrove—and tried smoking marijuana during the summer of 2001. In January of 2002, reports of the prince's illegal activities made tabloid headlines. Prince Harry admitted his misdeeds to his father who made the young royal visit a South London rehabilitation center to see firsthand the dangers associated with drug use.
In 2003, Prince Harry graduated from Eton. He spent some time traveling through Australia, Argentina, and Africa after finishing school. An avid polo player, Prince Harry participated in the Young England versus Young Australia Polo Match Test in Australia. He became involved in charity work while visiting Lesotho in southern Africa. He worked at a home for orphans of AIDS victims. To promote awareness of the problems there, he created a documentary called The Forgotten Kingdom: Prince Harry in Lesotho. The film helped raise approximately $2 million for the British Red Cross Lesotho Fund.
Around this time, Prince Harry became romantically linked with Chelsy Davy, according to news reports. The two have dated on and off several times since then. Prince Harry again found himself immersed in controversy in January of 2005 after photographs of him wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party were published in several newspapers. There was a public outcry about Prince Harry's costume, calling him insensitive. It was shocking to many that the prince could casually appear the uniform with a swastika armband — a symbol of hate and the atrocities of the Holocaust. In response to the criticism, Prince Harry issued a statement, saying "I am very sorry if I caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize."
Military Career
A few months later, Prince Harry and his brother attended their father's wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles. "She's always been very close to me and William... She's not the wicked stepmother. She's a wonderful woman and she's made our father very, very happy which is the most important thing," Prince Harry told the press at the time.
In May of 2005, Prince Harry enrolled at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He underwent 44 weeks of training there and, in April 2006, joined the Household Cavalry as a Second Lieutenant. Later that year, Prince Harry and Prince William announced their plans for a special concert to be held in 2007 to mark the tenth anniversary of their mother's passing.
On what would have been Princess Diana's 46th birthday, more than 60,000 people gathered at Wembley Stadium for the Concert for Diana. The event raised money for the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and several other charities including Sentebale, which Prince Harry has established to help children and others affected by the AIDS crisis in Lesotho.
That same year, Prince Harry began training for possible war zone deployment. His status as a royal posed certain security challenges to the army, and there was much debate regarding whether he should be allowed to serve in a combat situation. In February of 2008, Prince Harry began his tour of duty in Afghanistan. He served for two months.
In early 2009, Prince Harry once again faced criticism for his insensitivity. Videos of him from 2006 surfaced and depicted him using a derogatory term for a fellow Pakistani soldier as well as another offensive remark. Prince Harry apologized for his comments, and the army ordered him to undergo sensitivity training.
Despite this latest incident, Prince Harry continues to pursue a career in the military. He is training to become a pilot in the Army Air Corps.
From : www.biography.com
