Prince Harry biography, wife, daughter, net worth, kids, age, height 2025

Biography of Prince Harry

Prince Harry (Henry Charles Albert David) is the younger son of the King of the United Kingdom, Charles III, and Princess Diana, as well as the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Philip. He's the second royal family member, after Prince Edward, to voluntarily step back from his throne claim, though he remains fifth in line.

In 2020, he moved to the United States with his wife, actress Meghan Markle, and their children. In 2023, Prince Harry sent shockwaves through Britain once again with his explosive autobiography "Spare."

Childhood, Youth, Family

Harry was born in autumn 1984 at St. Mary's Hospital in central London. He was the second son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, joining his elder brother William, who was two years older. The Archbishop of Canterbury himself conducted Prince Harry's christening ceremony at St. George's Chapel in Windsor.

In his early years, Harry attended Mrs. Mynors' private nursery, chosen by their mother, who had previously worked as a nursery teacher. Her friend, Simone Simmons, who spent time with both boys, remembered:

Harry was always more sensitive than William when they were little. William loved being the center of attention, but Harry was quieter. He'd often stay home from school because he wasn't feeling well. He had more coughs and colds than William, but nothing serious – I think most of the time he just wanted to be home with his mom. He liked having her all to himself and not competing with William.

Harry realized early on that relatives, especially the Queen, treated him and his older brother differently. William, for example, could visit their grandmother alone while Harry was left to play in the nursery. Harry tried not to show he was upset, but Diana understood his feelings and made sure to spend extra time with her younger son, calling him "my little Spencer." Harry reminded her of her own sister Sarah in childhood, with the same red hair and close-set eyes.

His father's approach was quite different, as Harry later revealed in his memoir:

Pa loved telling stories that ended with a philosophical twist: 'Who knows if I'm really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if I'm even your real father?' He'd laugh and laugh, though it wasn't funny at all, especially given the rumors at the time that my real father was my mom's former lover, Major James Hewitt. One reason for this rumor was the major's fiery red hair.

Harry was just twelve when his beloved mother died in a car accident. When his father broke the news, he didn't even hug him. At that time, Harry was already attending Ludgrove School in Berkshire.

Prince Harry at Princess Diana's funeral

Grief began to take its toll – his behavior worsened and his grades suffered. At Eton College, his behavior only got worse – hardly fitting for a member of the royal family. Harry began drinking and smoking marijuana. He later admitted to experimenting with cocaine and hallucinogenic mushrooms:

It wasn't fun, really. There was no happiness or sense of elation. But I felt a little different. That was the point. To feel. To be different.

After graduating from Eton in 2003, Harry went traveling – first to Australia, then Argentina, and finally to Africa, where he filmed the documentary "The Forgotten Kingdom" about AIDS and orphans in Lesotho.

Military Career, Duties of the Prince

In 2005, Prince Harry became a cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. During this period, he would later admit to making "one of the biggest mistakes of his life." The Duke of Sussex showed up to a costume party wearing what looked like a Nazi uniform. The next day, tabloids like The Sun ran with the headline "Harry The Nazi," splashing a front-page photo of Harry looking flushed from drinking, cigarette in one hand, drink in the other, sporting a red armband with a swastika.

Scandalous photo of Prince Harry on the cover of The Sun

The public backlash was fierce: Harry's stunt outraged World War II veterans and Holocaust survivors. To make things right, Harry met with Holocaust survivors and issued a public apology. After graduating from Sandhurst, Harry received the honorary title of Commander of the British Navy, completed specialized training, and was deployed to Afghanistan's Helmand Province as an air controller.

He later earned promotion to Captain in the Royal Air Force, completed a "hostage survival course," became an Apache attack helicopter co-pilot, and returned to Afghanistan at the British Camp Bastion. In the summer of 2013, he became an Apache commander. In his memoir, Harry revealed he kept an exact count of enemies killed in Afghanistan:

It seemed important not to be afraid of that number. So my number is 25. It doesn't fill me with satisfaction, but it doesn't embarrass me either. I saw them as chess pieces removed from the board because you can't kill people if you think of them as people.

He wrapped up his pilot service in 2014, then became a staff officer organizing military ceremonies. He launched the international "Invictus Games" - competitions for military veterans who were wounded in service. Meanwhile, Harry took on royal duties assigned by the Queen: serving as official ambassador for Team GB at the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, representing Queen Elizabeth II at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and making overseas visits on her behalf. In 2017, he took on the role of Captain General of the Royal Marines, succeeding his grandfather Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. A year later, Harry became a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador and an aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II. Polls showed Harry had become the most popular royal family member, with Britons increasingly seeing echoes of his mother Diana in him.

Prince Harry's Personal Life

Princess Diana's sons captivated the public just as much as their mother had. While William kept a low profile, Harry's love life became constant tabloid fodder.

Harry's first serious romance was with Chelsy Davy. The university student's father was a wealthy Zimbabwean farmer. Their relationship lasted five years, and she was even invited to Harry's older brother's wedding. But the free-spirited Chelsy couldn't handle the royal family's strict protocols. The couple broke up and got back together several times before finally parting ways in 2009.

Harry turned to brief relationships. One of Harry's girlfriends was aristocratic dancer and model Cressida Bonas, introduced through Princess Eugenie of York. Their relationship lasted about a year, after which they decided to remain friends. Cressida even attended her ex's wedding as a guest.

For a time, Harry also dated actress Emma Watson, but the romance was fleeting.

Relationship with Meghan Markle

Everything changed when Harry met the American actress Meghan Markle. In his book, Harry revealed that his brother William and sister-in-law Kate were huge fans of the TV series "Suits," where Markle starred before meeting Harry. When he told them about his budding relationship with the actress from the show, their reaction was priceless:

Their mouths dropped open when I told them who my new girlfriend was. They turned to each other. Then Willy looked at me and said, 'No way!' However, according to Harry, this didn't stop William from later warning his brother to 'slow down' with Meghan. 'After all, she's an American actress, Harold,' he said. 'And anything can happen.'

But William's concerns didn't sway his younger brother. A year after meeting, Meghan and Harry got engaged. For an entire year, tabloids worldwide tracked the couple's every move, speculating about how the royal family—especially the Queen—felt about Harry's choice. Still, on May 19, 2018, the world watched captivated as Diana's younger son married the American actress, with Prince Charles himself walking her down the aisle.

The Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Exactly one year later, on May 6, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their first child, whose full name is Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. Meghan's first public appearance after giving birth was on Queen Elizabeth II's birthday. Sharp-eyed photographers caught troubling signs: Harry made several pointed remarks to his wife, who stood on the balcony with the royal family but turned away from the crowd below. Markle barely managed not to burst into tears.

This moment, splashed across headlines worldwide, may have pushed the couple to sue several publications that had been hounding them and scrutinizing their every public appearance.

In October 2019, the documentary "Harry & Meghan: An African Journey" aired on British TV screens, in which the couple, among other things, complained about media pressure.

In 2021, the couple announced they were expecting their second child. On June 4, they had a daughter, whose full name is Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.

Lilibet – Daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Abdication and Move to the USA

Almost immediately after the wedding, tensions erupted between the royal family and Prince Harry's young family, largely over their refusal to follow strict royal protocol.

For example, Meghan and Harry broke the long-standing tradition of celebrating Christmas with the Queen. But the real bombshell dropped with their social media announcement at the beginning of 2020, where they declared their intention 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." The couple also announced plans to live alternately in both the UK and the US. The internet quickly coined the term "Megxit" for the couple's dramatic departure, drawing parallels to Brexit.

Prince Harry & Meghan Markle To 'Step Back As Senior Members Of The Royal Family'

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles swiftly stripped the couple of many privileges. Harry lost his military titles and funding for his expenses. He was also stripped of the title "His Royal Highness." The Queen's decision allowed the couple to return to their duties as royal family members at any time, but Meghan had already relocated to Canada with their children, where Harry joined them at the end of January. Later, they settled in the American city of Santa Barbara and actively pursued financial independence for their family.

Their explosive interview with media mogul Oprah Winfrey became the most expensive and simultaneously the most jaw-dropping and scandalous show in history. Both revealed they found no support within the royal family, with Meghan facing harassment so severe she "just didn't want to live anymore," becoming the target of a "real smear campaign" by the British media.

Prince Harry, Meghan reveal struggles behind royal rift in Oprah interview

Meghan accused the royal family of "racist conversations" about her firstborn, while Harry declared it was time to break the toxic cycle of pain and suffering, referencing his father's treatment of him.

Prince Harry at Queen Elizabeth II's Funeral

It took two full years after their bombshell interview before Harry and Meghan would see Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles again. They visited the royal residence in Windsor on their way to The Hague for the Invictus Games. It would be their final meeting: Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, 2022. Harry never got to say goodbye and blamed his brother and father for keeping him away.

"I asked my brother, I said 'what are your plans, how are you and Kate getting up there?'And then a couple of hours later all of the family members that live in the Windsor and Ascot area were jumping on a plane together, a plane with 12, 14 maybe 16 seats. I was not invited.

That December, Netflix dropped the documentary series "Harry & Meghan," which global media immediately branded as scandalous and shocking. The series, beginning with their love story and how they met, once again explored themes of harassment, racism, and hostility toward the couple. King Charles III responded harshly, threatening to cut ties with his younger son and daughter-in-law completely.

Early 2023 drove an even deeper wedge between Prince Harry and the royal family. The reason was his autobiography titled "Spare," which sparked unprecedented controversy both in the UK and around the world.

Harry insisted the book's release was "driven by care for family members" and stated that he had twice as much material, which he chose not to publish to avoid putting his father and brother in an even more difficult position. Responding to accusations that he was undermining the monarchy, the Prince stated:

This is not about trying to destroy the monarchy – it's about trying to save them from themselves… When you're attempting to change the entire institution [of the monarchy] and, crucially, the media landscape, it's no trivial task. The scale of this challenge is enormous, and I must be able to protect myself – both mentally and emotionally – during this process.

The Duke of Sussex's autobiography sold nearly one and a half million copies on its first day alone. Harry's revelations about royal family conflicts, his shocking confessions, and explosive allegations sparked outrage in Britain and generated massive global reaction.

Prince Harry Now

In September 2024, Prince Harry celebrated his 40th birthday. He doesn't openly discuss how the King's son is living after the string of scandals, but occasionally, sources close to the couple leak details to the British press. The information is often contradictory. For example, around the same time, the Daily Mail reported (again citing sources) that Harry is currently "enjoying life with his family after many years of self-reflection" while also claiming he's "acting like a hurt child because the situation spiraled out of control and everything didn't go as he wanted."

What's certain is that Prince Harry absolutely adores his children. Photos of Archie and Lilibet rarely surface in the press or online—their parents fiercely protect them from the public eye. While Meghan wanted to gradually introduce them to public appearances, her husband—who remembers his own childhood traumas all too well—was firmly against it.

Prince Harry played a major role in the polo doc project

In the fall of 2024, Meghan and Harry announced their new project on Netflix—a documentary series called "Polo." The synopsis stated that the project will tell about elite world players and offer an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the dynamic world of the sport. However, the former royal couple once again faced backlash from the British public: the project's announcement came just hours after Kate Middleton revealed she'd completed her chemotherapy treatment.

Interesting Facts

As a child, Prince Harry's happiest days were when his mother took him and his brother to Smiths on Kensington High Street, near the palace. Royal family members weren't supposed to carry cash, but Diana was determined that her sons learn the value of money. Their outings always started at the store, where little Harry would eagerly buy comics, then the trio headed to the Odeon cinema, and afterward, the boys would sit in McDonald's with huge grins, enjoying fast food and playing with the plastic toys that came with those irresistibly tempting meals.

During his wild youth, Harry's countless indiscretions repeatedly landed the royal family in hot water with the media and public. The most notorious incident happened during a Vegas vacation, when international news outlets published scandalous photos of the young prince completely naked, surrounded by equally undressed women.

The complicated relationship between the brothers was well-documented, but Harry revealed another damaging episode in his autobiography. Once, during an argument, William called Meghan Markle "difficult, rude, and abrasive." Harry then poured his furious brother a glass of water, telling him he wouldn't discuss his wife or be spoken to in that tone. What happened next, according to Harry:

He put down the glass, then approached me. It all happened very quickly. William grabbed me by the collar, tore my necklace, and knocked me to the floor. I fell onto a dog bowl, which cracked under my back, and the shards dug into me. I lay there for a while, stunned, then got up and told him to get out.

Important Life Events

1998: Enrolled at Eton College.
2003: Traveled through Australia, Argentina, and Africa after finishing school. Made a documentary film.
2005: Enrolled at the Royal Military Academy.
2006: Received the honorary title of Commander-in-Chief of the British Navy and served in the Royal Horse Guards.
2007: Went to the combat zone in Afghanistan.
2008: Awarded the medal "For Participation in the Afghanistan Military Campaign".
2011: Became a captain in the British Air Force.
2012: Earned a pilot's diploma for the Apache attack helicopter. Returned to Afghanistan.
2013: Became a commander of the Apache attack helicopter.
2014: Transitioned to staff work. Initiated the Invictus Games.
2015: Became a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. Completed military service.
2017: Awarded the Spanish title of Commander First Class of the Order of Isabella the Catholic. Achieved the rank of Captain General of the Royal Marines.
2018: Married American actress Meghan Markle. Earned the rank of Major in the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.
2019: Son Archie Harrison was born.
2020: Stepped down from senior royal family duties with his wife.
2021: Gave a high-profile interview to TV host Oprah Winfrey with his wife. Daughter Lilibeth was born.
2022: Featured in the documentary series "Harry & Meghan".
2023: Released the autobiography "Spare".

Rosa Stewart

It is very incomprehensible to me that Harry neglected traditions and married an American... The Queen hardly approves of his chosen one. But Kate Middleton is a worthy wife!

2021-05-19 08:19:03
Mason Cole Long

I respect him for creating charitable foundations and helping those in need.

2021-04-22 19:09:40
Judy Norman

An unrealistically handsome prince, intelligent, educated, charismatic! Would be a worthy heir.

2021-04-17 11:32:31
Richard Arnold

I would like Harry to become the heir to the throne. But he went to America or Canada...

2021-03-26 14:30:03
Leslie Hayes

Prince Harry has an interesting fate, he found such a snake as his wife, of course.

2021-03-03 17:55:11

Photos: Prince Harry