Prince Henry of Wales

Prince Henry
Prince Henry of Wales
Prince Harry 2008.JPG
Full name Henry Charles Albert David [N 1]
Titles and styles
HRH Prince Henry of Wales
Royal house House of Windsor
Father Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
Mother Diana, Princess of Wales
Born 15 September 1984 (1984-09-15) (age 25)
St Mary's Hospital, London
Baptised 21 December 1984
St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
Occupation Lieutenant, Blues and Royals

Prince Henry of Wales (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984), commonly known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and grandson of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he is third in the line of succession to the thrones of 16 independent states, though he is resident in and most directly involved with the United Kingdom, the oldest realm.

After an education at various schools around the United Kingdom and spending parts of his gap year in Australia and Lesotho, Harry, unlike his elder brother, Prince William, eschewed a university education in favour of following in the footsteps of various royal men by enrolling in the military. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry – serving with his brother – and completed his training as a tank commander. He served for 77 days on the front line in the Afghan War,[2] although he was pulled out after the media revealed his presence.[3]

Contents

Early life

British Royal Family
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HM The Queen
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

  • HRH The Duke of Gloucester
    HRH The Duchess of Gloucester
  • HRH The Duke of Kent
    HRH The Duchess of Kent
  • HRH Prince Michael of Kent
    HRH Princess Michael of Kent
  • HRH Princess Alexandra

At St Mary's Hospital in London, England, on 15 September 1984, the second child of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales,younger brother of Prince William and fourth grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was born. Baptised at St George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle, by then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, Harry's godparents were his uncle, Prince Andrew, Duke of York; Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones; Lady Vestey; Mrs William Bartholomew; Bryan Organ; and Gerald Ward.

Along with his older brother, Harry's mother desired that he not just have "normal" experiences that other royal children had not had until later in life, if at all, but also more profound lessons, taking both boys to locales that ranged from Disneyland and McDonald's to AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless.[4] But a car accident in Paris in 1997 killed Harry's mother, who was, by then, divorced from the Prince of Wales. Harry, along with his brother and father, was staying at Balmoral Castle at the time, and the Prince of Wales waited until early the following morning to tell his sons about their mother's death.[5] At his mother's funeral, Harry accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather, and maternal uncle in walking behind the funeral cortège from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.

As Harry matured, rumours circulated that his biological father was not the Prince of Wales, but James Hewitt instead, an army officer with whom the Princess of Wales admitted, in her 1995 Panorama interview, having had an extramarital affair. However, Diana and Hewitt both stated that they did not meet until after Harry was born.[6]

Education

Continuing on his father's precedent, Harry was educated at independent schools, starting at Jane Mynors' nursery school and the pre-preparatory Wetherby School, both in London. Following this, he attended Ludgrove School, and, after passing the entrance exams, was admitted to Eton College, where he studied geography, biology, mathematics, and art history at A-Level. The decision to place Harry in Eton went against the family tradition of sending royal children to Gordonstoun (Harry's grandfather, father, two uncles, and two cousins all attended); it did, however, make the Prince follow in the Spencer family footsteps, as both Diana's father and brother had attended Eton.[4] In June 2003, he completed his education at Eton with two A-Levels, obtaining a B in art, and a D in geography. He excelled in sports, however, developing his love for sports, particularly polo and rugby union.

After graduation, the Prince 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 vs Young Australia Polo Test Match;[7] travelled to Lesotho, where he worked with orphaned children and produced the documentary film The Forgotten Kingdom;[4] and holidayed in Argentina.

Royal duties and career

Harry began to accompany his parents on official visits at an early age; his first overseas royal tour was with his parents to Italy in 1985.[8] The earlier decision made by the Princess of Wales to take an infant William to Australia set the precedent for young royal children going on official visits.[4] Harry then accompanied either both parents or his father on subsequent tours, though he did not begin solo official engagements until after his military training and active service; in 2008, he began to undertake royal visits to schools and organisations in Wales.[9]

Military career

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

Prince Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 8 May 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company.[10] Within a year, in April 2006, Harry completed his officer's training and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army.[11] By April 2008, whereupon he reached two years' seniority, Harry was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

The British Ministry of Defence and Clarence House made a joint announcement on 22 February 2007 that Prince Harry would be deployed with his regiment to the front line in Iraq, to serve 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;[12] he said: "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."[13] Then head of the British army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, first said on 30 April 2007 that he had personally decided that the Prince would serve with his unit in Iraq, and Harry was scheduled for deployment in May or June 2007, to patrol the Maysan province.[14] By May 16, however, Dannatt announced that Prince Harry would not serve in Iraq;[15] concerns included Harry 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 the Prince's life or capture. Clarence House made public the Prince's disappointment with the decision, though he said he would abide by it.[16] 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!"[17]

It was reported in early June 2007 that Prince Harry had arrived in Canada to train, alongside other soldiers of the Canadian Forces and British Army, at CFB Suffield near Medicine Hat, Alberta. It was said that this was in preparation for a tour of duty in Afghanistan, where Canadian and British forces were participating in the NATO led Afghan War;[18] rumours that were confirmed in February the following year, when the British Ministry of Defence revealed that Harry had secretly been deployed as a Forward Air Controller to Helmand Province in the Asian country.[19] The revelation came after the media – notably, the German newspaper Bild and Australian magazine New Idea[20][21] – breached the blackout placed over the information by the Canadian and British authorities.[22] It was later reported that, while in Afghanistan, Harry had called in United States Air Force air strikes,[23] helped Gurkha troops repel an attack from Taliban insurgents,[24] and performed patrol duty in hostile areas.[25] His tour came 735 years after his ancestor, Edward, Prince of Wales, had also been on military duty in the middle East during the Ninth crusade,[26] and also made Harry the first member of the Royal Family to have served in a war zone since his uncle, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, flew helicopters during the Falklands War; at the time, Andrew was second in line to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms. For his service, Prince Harry was decorated with the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan by his aunt, the Princess Royal, at the Combermere Barracks in May 2008.[27]

In October 2008, it was announced that Prince Harry was to follow his brother, father, and uncle with the wish to fly military helicopters. After passing the initial aptitude test, he will undertake a month-long course; depending on whether or not he passes this course he may proceed onto full flight training in early 2009.[28] Harry will need to pass his flying assessment at the Army Air Corps Base in Middle Wallop, the result of which will determine if he will pass on to train as a pilot of either the Apache, Lynx, or Gazelle helicopter, as his brother, father and uncle are capable of doing.[29]

Royal duties

At the age of 23, Prince Harry was appointed as a Counsellor of State, and began his royal duties by first serving in that capacity when the Queen was abroad to attend the 2005 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta. The following year, Harry was in Lesotho to again visit Mants'ase Children's Home near Mohale's Hoek (which he first toured in 2004), and along with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho launched Sentebale: The Princes' Fund for Lesotho, a charity to aid children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. He has also granted his patronage to a number of other organizations, including WellChild, Dolen Cymru, and MapAction.[30] To aid Sentebale, as well as the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and Centrepoint, Harry and his brother organised the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, on 1 July 2007.

Sports have also been a way that the Prince has helped charities and other organizations, such as when he trained as a Rugby Development Officer for the Rugby Football Union in 2004 and then coached students in schools in order to encourage them to learn the sport. He has also participated in polo matches, like his brother and father, in order to raise money for charitable causes.[7]

Personal life and relationships

Prince Harry has spent much of his free time in sporting activities, playing competitive polo, as well as skiing (at Klosters, Switzerland, and Whistler, British Columbia), and motocross.[7] Harry also earned a reputation in his youth for being rebellious, leading the tabloid press to label him as a "wild child".[31] He was found at age 17 smoking marijuana and partaking in under age drinking with his friends, would clash physically with paparazzi outside of nightclubs,[31] and was photographed at a "Colonial and Native" themed costume party wearing a Nazi Afrika Korps uniform.[32] He later issued a public statement apologising for his actions.[33]

Harry's personal relationships have not been followed as much as those of his brother; the most media attention has been focused on his relationship with Chelsy Davy. In an interview conducted for his 21st birthday, Harry referred to Davy as his girlfriend, and the press reported at that time that the couple had been together for 18 months, contradicting earlier reports that they were no longer together.[34] Harry and Davy were also seen together publicly at the Concert for Diana.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

Styles of
HRH Prince Henry of Wales
Heir apparent's Children Coronet.svg
Reference style His Royal Highness
Spoken style Your Royal Highness
Alternative style Sir

The Prince's style and title in full: His Royal Highness Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales. As a British prince, Harry holds no surname; however, as with the other male-line grandchildren of Elizabeth II, he uses the name of the area over which his father holds title, i.e. Wales (as Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie use York, per their father, Prince Andrew, Duke of York). Past precedent is that such surnames are dropped from usage in adulthood, after which either title alone, or Mountbatten-Windsor is used when necessary.[35][1] Should his father succeed to the throne he will be known as His Royal Highness The Prince Henry.

Military ranks

Honours

Medals

Honorary military appointments

Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom

Arms

Arms of Prince Henry of Wales
Notes
On his 18th birthday, his grandmother, Elizabeth II, granted Prince Harry his own personalised coat of arms, consisting of the escutcheon of the arms of the sovereign in right of the United Kingdom with a label for difference.
 Henry of Wales Arms.svg
Escutcheon
Quarterly 1st and 4th gules three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langed azure 2nd or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressure flory counterflory of the second 3rd azure a harp or stringed argent
Other elements
the whole differenced by a Label of five points Argent the first third and fifth points charged with an Escallop Gules
Symbolism
As the grandchild of the sovereign, Prince Harry's coat of arms has a label of five points. The escallops (seashells) allude to his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, whose Spencer coat of arms includes three escallops argent

Ancestry

Via his maternal grandfather, Prince Henry is descended from King Charles II and King James II and VII. Through his mother, Harry is of English descent and remote Irish, Scottish, American, and Armenian descent.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ As a titled royal, Harry holds no surname, but, when one is used, it is Mountbatten-Windsor (or, more colloquially, his father's territorial designation, Wales); according to letters patent dated February 1960, his official surname is Windsor.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Frequently Asked Questions for alt.talk.royalty > British royalty and nobility". heraldica.org. Retrieved on 2008-10-12.
  2. ↑ Associated Press (28 February 2008). "Prince Harry on front line in Afghanistan" (in English), MSNBC. Retrieved on 2008-02-28. 
  3. ↑ Audrey, Gillian; Tran, Mark; Walker Peter (28 February 2008), "Harry secretly serving in Afghanistan", Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/28/military.afghanistan 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Celebrity Central > Prince Harry > Biography". People (Time Inc.). http://www.people.com/people/prince_harry/biography. Retrieved on 2008-10-15. 
  5. ↑ "Timeline: How Diana Died" (in English), BBC (30 August 1997). Retrieved on 2008-04-11. 
  6. ↑ "Hewitt denies Prince Harry link", BBC (21 September 2002). Retrieved on 2008-03-08. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "The Prince of Wales > Prince Harry > Interests". Clarence House. Retrieved on 2008-10-15.
  8. ↑ "The Prince of Wales > At Work > Countries Visited". Clarence House. Retrieved on 2008-10-15.
  9. ↑ "The Prince of Wales > News > Prince Harry carries out engagements in Cardiff". Clarence House (5 June 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-15.
  10. ↑ "Harry begins Sandhurst training" (in English), BBC (8 May 2005). Retrieved on 2008-10-16. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Army". London Gazette (Her Majesty's Stationary Office) Supplement No. 1 (57994). 26 May 2006. http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=57994&geotype=London&gpn=7375&type=Supplement. Retrieved on 2008-10-12. 
  12. ↑ Witchell, Nicholas (22 February 2007). "Harry Iraq deployment no surprise" (in English), BBC. Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  13. ↑ "MoD to review Harry's Iraq role" (in English), BBC (26 April 2007). Retrieved on 2008-10-12. 
  14. ↑ Hilder, James (April 27, 2007). "A 'Wild West' in the east where militias learn their deadly trade". The Times (News International Group). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1712044.ece. Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  15. ↑ "Prince Harry will not go to Iraq" (in English), CNN (17 May 2007). Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  16. ↑ "The Prince of Wales > News > Prince Harry deployment update". Clarence House (16 May 2007). Retrieved on 2008-10-14.
  17. ↑ "Harry's troops do a Spartacus", Ananova (2 May 2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-04. 
  18. ↑ "Prince Harry may be training in Alberta: reports" (in English), CTV (2 June 2007). Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  19. ↑ "Prince Harry on Afghan front line" (in English), BBC (28 February 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  20. ↑ Gammell, Caroline (1 Mar 2008). "How the Prince Harry blackout was broken". Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/28/nharry2128.xml. Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  21. ↑ "Prince Harry Biography > New Idea". Yahoo. Retrieved on 2008-10-14.
  22. ↑ Dunn, Tom Newton (29 February 2008). "Harry to come home". The Sun (News Group Newspapers Ltd.). http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/royals/article865446.ece. Retrieved on 2008-10-16. 
  23. ↑ "Hero Harry's home". The Sun (News Group Newspapers Ltd.). 29 February 2008. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article858482.ece. Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  24. ↑ "Prince Harry in Taliban gun battle". Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). 29 February 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/28/nharry228.xml. Retrieved on 2008-10-16. 
  25. ↑ "On patrol with Prince Harry". Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). 29 February 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/28/nharry728.xml. Retrieved on 2008-10-16. 
  26. ↑ Tyerman, Christopher (25 September 2006). God's War: A New History Of The Crusades. Belknap Press. ISBN 0674023870. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Perry, Simon; Tumposky, Ellen (16 October 2008). "Prince Harry Gets Medal as Chelsy Cheers Him On". People (Time Inc.). http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20197820,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-16. 
  28. ↑ "Prince Harry aims to become pilot", BBC (27 October 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-27. 
  29. ↑ "Prince Harry volunteers for Army helicopter pilot selection", Ministry of Defence (MoD) (27 October 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-27. 
  30. ↑ "The Prince of Wales > Media Centre > Press Releases > Prince Harry to become Patron of three charities". Princeofwales.gov.uk (28 March 2007). Retrieved on 2008-10-14.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Majendie, Paul (1 March 2008). "Prince Harry: Wild child turned war hero" (in English), Reuters. Retrieved on 2008-10-16. 
  32. ↑ "Harry says sorry for Nazi costume" (in English), BBC. Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  33. ↑ "Harry public apology 'not needed'" (in English), BBC (14 January 2005). Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  34. ↑ Bates, Stephen (15 September 2005). "Harry at 21 on Camilla, the media and Aids children in Africa". Guardian (Guardian News and Media Ltd.). http://www.guardian.co.uk/monarchy/story/0,,1570161,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  35. ↑ "The Royal Family > Titles and Succession > Royal Family Name". Buckingham Palace. Retrieved on 2008-10-15.
  36. ↑ . London Gazette (Her Majesty's Stationary Office) (58667): 5736. 15 April 2008. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 "The Prince of Wales > Prince Harry > At Work > Regiments". Retrieved on 2008-10-16.
  38. ↑ "RAF Regiment Association Official Site". Rafregt.org.uk. Retrieved on 2008-10-12.

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Persondata
NAME Wales, Harry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mountbatten-Windsor, Henry Charles Albert David
SHORT DESCRIPTION Second son of Charles, Prince of Wales
DATE OF BIRTH 15 September 1984 (1984-09-15) (age 25)
PLACE OF BIRTH London, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH