Happy Birthday to Prince Harry as he turns 38 years old today.
Sadly, the Duke of Sussex’s milestone comes at a heartbreaking time for his family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
He is said to have few plans and will spend his day alongside wife Meghan Markle as they continue to mourn his grandmother in London.
The royal has lived quite the life after being born into one of the world’s most famous families.
From his rebellious antics as a teenager and his work in the Army , to moving to the US and starting a family, there have been many ups and downs.
Join Metro.co.uk as we take you through the key moments.
Welcome to the world
Henry Charles Albert David was born in the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, on 15 September, 1984.
He is the second child of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales.
Growing up, his family referred to him as Harry – a nickname that stuck.
Harry starts school
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Pictures show the young prince gaze up at his older brother at his first day at school in 1989.
Although he went onto be known for roguish behaviour, Harry was initially descried as a quiet child who was ‘happy in his own world’, opposed to his brother William who was reportedly nicknamed ‘Basher’.
After attending Mrs. Mynors’s Nursery School, Harry headed to Wetherby School in London before going to Ludgrove School in Berkshire.
Charity work, theme parks and McDonald’s trips
Diana is said to have tried to make sure her sons had as normal a life as possible outside the palace walls.
This included fast-food runs to McDonald’s on Saturday nights and amusement park and beach trips.
But the move that perhaps shaped her sons the most was the visits she used to take them on to homeless shelters and other charities.
Loss of his mother
One year after his parents divorce in 1996, Harry’s mum Diana died in a car crash in Paris.
Harry later spoke of his pain while walking behind her coffin in the funeral procession.
‘It was like I was outside of my body and just walking along doing what was expected of me’, he said on mental health series The Me You Can’t See.
‘[I was] showing one tenth of the emotion that everybody else was showing: This was my mum – you never even met her.’
Eton
Following in his older brother’s footsteps, Harry started Eton College in 1998.
It’s believed he wasn’t considered particularly academically strong but still gained 11 GCSEs and two A-Levels.
He was ‘a top tier athlete’, playing competitive polo and rugby, and was made a cadet officer in the Combined Cadet Force.
Gap year
After deciding against university, Harry explored the world on his gap year.
He spent time in Australia working as a jackaroo on a cattle station before heading to Southern Africa to work with orphaned children.
In his late teenage years and early 20s, Harry developed a rebellious reputation and was often seen drinking and smoking – gaining him the label of ‘wild child’ in the British press.
One of the biggest scandals saw him wear a swastika armband to a friend’s fancy dress party, which he later apologised for.
Army
Harry served in the Army for ten years, rising to the rank of Captain and undertaking two tours of Afghanistan.
Describing it as ‘the happiest times in my life’, he said: ‘I got to wear the same uniform as everybody else.
‘I had to do all the same training as everybody else. I started from the bottom like everybody else.’
He continues to work in support of his fellow servicemen and founded the Invictus Games in 2014.
Meghan
Harry met Meghan Markle after being set up on a blind date by a mutual friend in London in July 2016.
In the couple’s engagement interview with the BBC, the Duke of Sussex said he fell in love with the Suits actress ‘so incredibly quickly’ and that it felt like the ‘stars were aligned’ for their relationship.
But the pair struggled with press attention and in November 2016, Harry released a statement slamming ‘a wave of abuse and harassment that had racial and sexist undertones’.
Wedding
Harry and Meghan married on May 19, 2018 in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Six hundred guests – including Serena Williams and George Clooney – watched them make their vows.
On the same day, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on her grandson and his new wife.
First child
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born on 6 May 2019 at the Portland Hospital in London.
He is sixth in the line of succession to the British throne and became a prince upon the accession of his grandfather, King Charles III.
Stepping down
In January 2020, the duke and duchess announced that they were stepping back from their role as senior members of the Royal Family.
They settled in LA in March after living in Canada for a few weeks.
A year later, it was confirmed the move would be permanent and all honorary military appointments and royal patronages returned to Her Majesty.
Little was initially known about the reasons behind the decision but Harry later said he felt he had to remove his family from the grip of the British press, while he felt the firm had not offered them enough support.
Archewell
In April 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were planning to launch a charitable organisation named Archewell.
The non-profit focuses on global issues working to ‘uplift and unite communities’.
Oprah interview
A bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 saw Harry and Meghan claim an unnamed member of the Royal Family had raised ‘concerns and conversations about how dark Archie’s skin might be when he’s born’.
The duchess revealed she had suicidal thoughts as she struggled with life in the UK, saying: ‘I just didn’t want to be alive anymore.’
Meanwhile, the duke spoke about his rift with Charles and William and said they were both ‘trapped in the system’.
The Queen responded saying the family was ‘concerned and saddened’ by the allegations, but added ‘recollections may vary’.
Second child
Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born in Santa Barbara, California, on June 4, 2021.
She was named after the Queen, who was nicknamed Lilibet as a child, and became a princess upon Her Majesty’s passing.
Loss of the Queen and Prince Philip
Harry’s grandfather died aged 99 on April 9, 2021, while his grandmother followed a year and five months later on September 8, 2022.
Both losses saw the prince reunite with his family in the UK to pay tribute.
He described Philip as ‘authentically himself with a seriously sharp wit’, and fondly remembered the monarch’s ‘infectious smile’.
What does Harry’s future hold?
Harry is set to continue with his charity work, while his highly anticipated memoir is set to come out.
It’s believed it will now be postponed until next year due to the royal mourning period following the Queen’s death.
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