Henry Charles Albert David, Duke of Sussex (born 15 September 1984)

Prince Harry with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, June 2013

Officer Cadet Wales (standing to attention next to the horse) on parade at Sandhurst, 21 June 2005

Prince Harry talking to an injured soldier at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 2013

Prince Harry with former U.S. President George W. Bush, Florida, 2016

Prince Harry presents Army Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Marks with the four gold medals she had earned in swimming at the 2016 Invictus Games

Photo: U.S. Dept of Defence • Believed to be in the Public Domain

Prince Harry and Megan Markle attending church at Sandringham on Christmas Day, 2017

Photo: Mark Jones / Flickr • Licensed for reuse under CC BY 2.0

Prince Harry and Megan Markle visit Titanic Belfast, March 2018

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales and is sixth in the line of succession to the British throne.

MM

Harry was educated at Wetherby School, Ludgrove School, and Eton College. He was commissioned as a cornet (second lieutenant) into the Blues and Royals and he completed his training as a troop leader. In 2007–08, he served for over ten weeks in Helmand, Afghanistan, but was pulled out after an Australian magazine revealed his presence there. He returned to Afghanistan for a 20-week deployment in 2012–13 with the Army Air Corps. He left the army in June 2015.

MM

Harry launched the Invictus Games in 2014 and remains patron of its foundation. He also gives patronage to several other organisations, including the HALO Trust, the London Marathon Charitable Trust, and Walking With The Wounded.
MM
In May 2018, he married American actress Meghan Markle. Hours before the wedding, his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II made him Duke of Sussex.

MM

His parents announced their second son's name would officially be Prince Henry Charles Albert David, but that he would be known as Harry to his family and friends. As the prince grew up, he was referred to by Kensington Palace, and therefore the Press and the public at large, as Prince Harry.

MM

Harry was educated at independent schools. He started at London's Jane Mynors' nursery school and the pre-preparatory Wetherby School. Following this, he attended Ludgrove School in Berkshire. Like brother William, Harry was admitted to Eton College.
MM

In June 2003, Harry completed his education at Eton with two A-Levels,  achieving a grade B in art and D in geography, having decided to drop history of art after AS level. He excelled in sports, particularly polo and rugby union.

MM

After school, 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 v Young Australia Polo Test match. He also travelled to Lesotho, where he worked with orphaned children and produced the documentary film The Forgotten Kingdom.
MM

Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in May 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales. In April 2006, Harry completed his officer training and was commissioned as a Cornet (second lieutenant) in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry. In April 2008, when he reached two years' seniority, Harry was promoted to lieutenant.

MM

In 2006, it was announced that Harry's unit was scheduled to be deployed in Iraq the following year. A public debate ensued as to whether he should serve there. Defence Secretary John Reid said that he should be allowed to serve on the front line of battle zones. The Ministry of Defence and Clarence House made a joint announcement on 22 February 2007 that Harry would be deployed with his regiment to Iraq, 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. He said:

MM

"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"

MM

Harry was scheduled for deployment in Iraq in May or June 2007, to patrol the Maysan Governorate. By 16 May, however, Head of the Army General Sir Richard Dannatt, announced that Harry would not serve in Iraq; concerns included Harry being a high-value target (as several threats by various groups had already been made against him) and the dangers the soldiers around him would face should any attempt be made on his life or if he was captured. Clarence House made public Harry's disappointment with the decision, though he said he would abide by it.

MM

In February 2008 the British Ministry of Defence revealed that Harry had been secretly deployed as a Forward Air Controller to Helmand Province in Afghanistan for the previous ten weeks with joint Canadian and British forces. The revelation came after the media – notably, German newspaper Bild and Australian magazine New Ideal – breached the blackout placed over the information by the Canadian and British authorities. It was later reported that Harry helped Gurkha troops repel an attack from Taliban insurgents, and performed patrol duty in hostile areas while in Afghanistan.

MMformer

In October 2008, it was announced that Harry was to follow his brother, father and uncle in learning to fly military helicopters. He had to pass his flying assessment at the Army Air Corps Base (AAC), Middle Wallop, and  having reached the requisite standard, Harry attended the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury, where he joined his brother. His father. Prince Charles presented him with his flying brevet (wings) on 7 May 2010.

MM

In October 2011, he was transferred to a US military base in California to complete his helicopter gunship training. This final phase included live-fire training and "environmental and judgment training" at naval and air force facilities in California and Arizona. It was reported that Harry was said to be a natural pilot who was top of his class in the extensive training.

MM

On 7 September 2012, Harry arrived at Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan as part of the 100 strong 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment, Army Air Corps, to begin a four month combat tour as a co-pilot and gunner for an Apache helicopter. Within days of arriving, it was reported that the Taliban had threatened his life. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid spoke to Reuters and was quoted as saying: "We are using all our strength to get rid of him, either by killing or kidnapping." He added, "We have informed our commanders in Helmand to do whatever they can to eliminate him."

MM

On 21 January 2013, it was announced that Harry was returning Afghanistan. On 8 July 2013, the Ministry of Defence announced that Harry had successfully qualified as an Apache aircraft commander. Harry compared operating the Apache's weapons systems in Afghanistan to playing video games.

MM

In January 2014, the Ministry of Defence announced that Harry had completed his attachment to 3 Regiment Army Air Corps, and would take up a staff officer role in HQ London District. His responsibilities would include helping to co-ordinate significant projects and commemorative events involving the Army in London.

MM

On 6 March 2014, Harry launched Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style sporting event for injured servicemen and women, which was held on 10–14 September 2014. "This (Invictus Games) is basically my full-time job at the moment, making sure that we pull this off." Harry later wrote an article in The Sunday Times about his experiences in Afghanistan: how they had inspired him to help injured personnel and how, after a trip to the Warrior Games, he had vowed to create the Invictus Games.

MM

Since leaving active service with the army, Harry has been closely involved with the armed forces through the Invictus Games, honorary military appointments and other official engagements. In December 2017, he succeeded his grandfather Prince Philip as the Captain General of the Royal Marines. In May 2018, he was promoted to the substantive ranks of Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Navy, Major of the British Army and Squadron Leader of the Royal Air Force.