Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Prince Harry |
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| Duke of Sussex (more) | |||||
Harry in 2020
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| Born | Prince Henry of Wales 15 September 1984 St Mary's Hospital, London, England |
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| House | Windsor | ||||
| Father | Charles III | ||||
| Mother | Diana Spencer | ||||
| Education |
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| Military career | |||||
| Allegiance | United Kingdom | ||||
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British Army | ||||
| Years of active service | 2005–2015 | ||||
| Rank | See list | ||||
| Service number | 564673 | ||||
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| Awards | Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan | ||||
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, KCVO (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984), is the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succession to the British throne.
In 2018, Harry was made Duke of Sussex prior to his wedding to American actress Meghan Markle. They have two children: Archie and Lilibet. Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in January 2020, moved to Meghan's native Southern California, and launched Archewell Inc., a Beverly Hills-based mix of for-profit and not-for-profit (charitable) business organisations. In March 2021, Harry sat for Oprah with Meghan and Harry, a much-publicised American television interview with his wife and Oprah Winfrey. The couple filmed Harry & Meghan, a Netflix docuseries, which was released in December 2022.
Contents
Early life
Prince Harry was born in Paddington, London, on 15 September 1984. He is the second child of the Prince of Wales (later King Charles III) and his first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales. Growing up, he was referred to as "Harry" by family, friends, and the public. Harry and his elder brother, William, were raised at Kensington Palace in London, and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire. Diana wanted him and his brother to have a broader range of experiences and a better understanding of ordinary life than previous royal children. She took them to venues that ranged from Walt Disney World and McDonald's to AIDS clinics and homeless shelters. He began accompanying his parents on official visits at an early age; his first overseas tour was with his parents to Italy in 1985. He also travelled with his family to Canada in 1991 and 1998.
Harry's parents divorced in 1996. His mother died in a car crash in Paris the following year.
Education
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Like his father and brother, 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. After passing entrance exams, he was admitted to Eton College. The decision to place Harry at Eton went against the past practice of the Mountbatten-Windsors to send children to Gordonstoun, which Harry's grandfather, father, two uncles, and two cousins had attended.
In June 2003, Harry completed his education at Eton. He has been described as "a top tier athlete", having played competitive polo and rugby union. Harry also joined the Combined Cadet Force while studying at Eton and was made cadet officer in his final year, leading the corps' annual parade at the Eton tattoo.
After school, Harry took a gap year, during which he spent time in Australia working as a jackaroo on a cattle station, and participating in the Young England vs Young Australia Polo Test match. He also travelled to Lesotho, where he worked with orphaned children and produced the documentary film The Forgotten Kingdom.
Military career
Harry completed army officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a cornet into the Blues and Royals and served temporarily with his older brother William. Harry was separately deployed on active duty to Afghanistan on two occasions; the first was in 2007–2008 for ten weeks in Helmand Province. The second was for twenty weeks in 2012–2013 with the Army Air Corps. This made him the first member of the British royal family to serve in a war zone since his uncle Prince Andrew, who flew helicopters during the Falklands War. For Harry's service, his aunt Princess Anne presented him with an Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan at the Combermere Barracks in May 2008.
Inspired by the Warrior Games in the United States, Harry launched the Invictus Games in 2014 as founding patron and now remains involved in a non-royal capacity. Two years later, alongside his brother William and sister-in-law Catherine, Harry jointly initiated the mental health awareness campaign "Heads Together".
Post-military service
In 2021, Harry described his 10 years (2005–2015) in the army as "the happiest times in my life". Since leaving the army, he has been closely involved with the armed forces through the Invictus Games, honorary military appointments and other official engagements. On 19 December 2017, he succeeded his grandfather Prince Philip as the Captain General 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.
On 18 January 2020, Buckingham Palace announced that an agreement had been reached for Harry "to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments". In February 2021, the Palace confirmed that the Duke would give up his position as Captain General Royal Marines and hand back all the other honorary military appointments.
Personal life
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In mid-2016, Prince Harry began a relationship with American actress Meghan Markle. In September 2017, Prince Harry and Markle first appeared together in public at the Invictus Games in Toronto. Their engagement was announced on 27 November 2017 by Harry's father. The announcement prompted generally positive comments about having a mixed-race person as a member of the royal family. On 19 May 2018, the marriage ceremony was held at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
The Duke and Duchess initially lived at Nottingham Cottage in London, on the grounds of Kensington Palace. The couple then moved to Frogmore Cottage in the Home Park of Windsor Castle. The Crown Estate refurbished the cottage at a cost of £2.4 million. On 6 May 2019, the Duke and Duchess's son, Archie, was born. Their office was moved to Buckingham Palace and officially closed on 31 March 2020 when the Sussexes ceased "undertaking official engagements in support of the Queen". After some months in Canada and the United States, the couple bought a house in June 2020 on the former estate of Riven Rock in Montecito, California. On 4 June 2021, their daughter, Lilibet, was born. The Duke and Duchess own a Labrador named Pula, and two Beagles named Guy and Mamma Mia.
Memoir
Harry's memoir Spare was officially published on 10 January 2023 in 16 languages, and it has since become the UK's fastest selling non-fiction book with 400,000 confirmed sales in all formats on publication day. Harry announced that $1.5 million of the proceeds from the memoir were pledged to the charity Sentebale, while £300,000 would be given to WellChild.
Public life
At the age of 21, Harry became a Counsellor of State and began his duties in that capacity. On 6 January 2009, the Queen granted Harry and William their own royal household. Previously, William and Harry's affairs had been handled by their father's office at Clarence House in central London. The new household released a statement announcing they had established their own office at nearby St James's Palace to look after their public, military and charitable activities. In March 2012, Harry led an official visit to Belize as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. He continued to the Bahamas and Jamaica, where the Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller, was considering initiating a process of turning Jamaica into a republic. He then visited Brazil to attend the GREAT Campaign. Harry also played tambourine and took part in the music video for the song "Sing", which was released in May 2012 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee.
Between 9 and 15 May 2013, he made an official visit to the United States. The tour promoted the rehabilitation of injured American and UK troops, publicised his own charities and supported British interests. It included engagements in Washington, DC, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In October 2013, he undertook his first official tour of Australia. In May 2014, he visited Estonia and Italy.
In April 2018, he was appointed Commonwealth youth ambassador, a position which he held until March 2020. Also in that month, Harry became a patron of Walk of America, a campaign which brings together a number of veterans who will take part in a 1,000-mile expedition across the US in mid-2018. The Prince was appointed the president of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, which focuses on projects involving children and welfare of prisoners, in April. He remained the charity's president until February 2021. In July 2018, Harry travelled to Dublin, Ireland, alongside his wife Meghan, which marked their first overseas visit as a couple. In October 2018, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex travelled to Sydney, for the 2018 Invictus Games. This formed part of a Pacific tour that included Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.
During his visit to the Luengue-Luiana National Park, the Duke unveiled an initiative by the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy to help with protecting "an ancient elephant migration route" by providing safe passage for them in the forest. In September and October 2019, a Southern African tour included Malawi, Angola, South Africa and Botswana. Because infant son Archie travelled with the Sussexes, this was "their first official tour as a family". Harry completed 1,190 engagements between 2006 and 2019.
Stepping back
In January 2020, the Duke and Duchess announced that they were stepping back from their role as senior members of the royal family, and would balance their time between the United Kingdom and North America. A statement released by the Palace confirmed that the Duke and Duchess were to become financially independent and cease to represent the Queen.
Charity work
Humanitarian and environmental activities
In 2006, he was in Lesotho to visit Mants'ase Children's Home near Mohale's Hoek, which he first toured in 2004. Along with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, he launched Sentebale: The Princes' Fund for Lesotho, a charity to aid children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. He has granted his patronage to organisations including WellChild, Dolen Cymru, MapAction and the London Marathon Charitable Trust; he stepped down from MapAction in 2019 and the London Marathon Charitable Trust in 2021. In 2007, William and Harry organised the Concert for Diana, in memory of their mother, which benefited the charities and patronages of Diana, William, and Harry. In October 2008, Harry and his brother embarked on the 1,000 mile eight-day Enduro Africa motorbike ride across South Africa to raise money for Sentebale, UNICEF and the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. In September 2009, William and Harry set up The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry to enable them to take forward their charitable ambitions. Harry left the charity in June 2019.
After taking part in an unfinished trip to the North Pole with Walking With The Wounded in 2011, Harry joined the charity's 200-mile expedition to the South Pole in December 2013, accompanying twelve injured servicemen and women from the UK, the US and the Commonwealth. As patron of Walk of Britain, he walked with the team on 30 September and 20 October 2015. To raise awareness for HIV testing, Harry took a test live on the royal family Facebook page on 14 July 2016. He later attended the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, on 21 July 2016. On World AIDS Day, Harry and Rihanna helped publicise HIV testing by taking the test themselves.
In December 2017, Harry guest edited BBC Radio 4's Today programme, conducting interviews with his father, the Prince of Wales, former US president Barack Obama, and others on issues such as youth violence, the Armed Forces, mental health, the Commonwealth, conservation and the environment. On 27 December 2017, Harry was officially appointed the new president of African Parks, a conservation NGO. He previously spent three weeks in Malawi with African Parks where he joined a team of volunteers and professionals to carry out one of the largest elephant translocations in history. The effort to repopulate areas decimated due to poaching and habitat loss moved 500 elephants from Liwonde and Majete National Parks to Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. Harry had previously helped with relocating rhinos in the Okavango Delta and later became patron of the Rhino Conservation Botswana. In July 2018, the Elton John AIDS Foundation announced that the Duke of Sussex and British singer Elton John were about to launch a global coalition called MenStar that would focus "on treating HIV infections in men".
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In May 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex together with Harry's brother and sister-in-law launched Shout, the UK's first 24/7 text messaging service for those who suffer from mental issues. In September 2019, the Duke launched Travalyst during his visit to the Netherlands after two years of development. The initiative is set "to encourage sustainable practices in the travel industry" and "tackle climate change and environmental damage", in collaboration with a number of companies, including Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Visa Inc. The organisation later announced a partnership with Google in 2021. In October 2019, along with other members of the royal family, Harry voiced a Public Health England announcement, for the "Every Mind Matters" mental health program.
In February 2020, Harry recorded a new version of the song "Unbroken" with Jon Bon Jovi. The new version features backing vocals from members of the Invictus Choir. The song was released on 27 March 2020, the proceeds of which were donated to the Invictus Games Foundation. In April 2020, Harry launched a new initiative named HeadFIT, a platform designed to provide mental support for members of the armed forces. The initiative was developed mutually by the Royal Foundation's Heads Together campaign, the Ministry of Defence, and King's College London. In June 2020, the Duke and Duchess backed the Stop Hate for Profit campaign and encouraged CEOs of different companies to join the movement.
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In April 2021, Harry and Meghan were announced as campaign chairs for Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World, an event organised by Global Citizen to increase access to COVID-19 vaccinations. They also announced their support for a vaccine equity fundraiser initiated by the same organisation, and penned an open letter to the pharmaceutical industry CEOs urging them to address the vaccine equity crisis. Later that month, he narrated "Hope Starts Here", a special video rereleased by African Parks to mark the Earth Day in which he urged organisations and communities to preserve biodiversity and paid tribute to his grandfather Prince Philip for his efforts as a conservationist. He helped with the establishment of Peak State, a mental fitness programme aimed at providing tools and resources for managing mental health, to which he publicly lent his support in May 2021.
Like his mother, Harry has worked with the HALO Trust, an organisation that removes debris—particularly landmines—left behind by war. He had previously visited a minefield in Mozambique with the charity and spent two days learning about their work and mine-clearing techniques. In 2013 he was named as patron of the charity's 25th Anniversary Appeal. In April 2017, he hosted the Landmine Free 2025 reception at Kensington Palace, during which the UK government announced an increase in its financial support for de-mining efforts. In September 2019, he walked through a de-mining site in Angola, the same country visited by his mother 22 years earlier.
In September 2021, together with First Lady Jill Biden, he hosted a virtual event for the Warrior Games, which were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2021, he spoke against oil drilling in the Okavango River in an op-ed for The Washington Post. In the same month and ahead of the 2021 G20 Rome summit, Harry and his wife penned an open letter together with the Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom, asking the G20 leaders to expedite efforts for the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. In March 2022, they were among more than a hundred people who signed an open letter published by the People's Vaccine Alliance, asking for free global access to COVID-19 vaccines and calling out the UK, EU and Switzerland for opposing a waiver that would allow vaccine intellectual property protections to be lifted. In April 2022 and in a video featuring Rhys Darby and Dave Fane on Māori Television, Harry launched an eco-travel campaign through his non-profit Travalyst, encouraging people to travel sustainably.
Sport
Harry has enjoyed playing sports, such as competitive polo, skiing, and motocross. Like his brother and father, he has participated in polo matches to raise money for charitable causes. Harry is also a keen Rugby football fan and supported England's bid to host rugby union's 2015 Rugby World Cup, and presented the trophy at rugby league's 2019 Challenge Cup finals. In 2004, Harry trained as a Rugby Development Officer for the Rugby Football Union and coached students in schools to encourage them to learn the sport. He, along with former rugby player Brian Moore, both argued that in response to Black Lives Matter, the song "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" should no longer be sung in rugby context. Between December 2016 and February 2021, he was patron of both the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL), Rugby League's governing body in England. He had served as the RFU's vice-royal patron since 2010, supporting the Queen as patron.
In 2012, Harry launched Coach Core alongside his brother and sister-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The program was set up following the 2012 Olympics and provides apprenticeship opportunities for people who desire to pursue a career as a professional coach. In January 2017, Harry visited the Running Charity and its partner Depaul UK to highlight the role of sport in helping homeless and vulnerable people. In June 2019, the Duke was present at the launch of Made by Sport, a charity coalition set to raise money to boost sport in disadvantaged communities. In his statement, he lent his support to the charity by arguing that its role in bringing sport into the life of disadvantaged people would save "hundreds of millions of pounds" towards treating the issues among young people.
Sussex Royal and Archewell
In June 2019, it was announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would split from The Royal Foundation and establish their own charity foundation by the end of 2019. Nevertheless, the couple would collaborate with Harry's brother and his wife on mutual projects, such as the mental health initiative Heads Together. In July 2019, Harry and Meghan's new charity was registered in England and Wales under the title "Sussex Royal The Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex". On 21 February, it was confirmed that "Sussex Royal" would not be used as a brand name for the couple following their withdrawal from public life. On 5 August 2020, Sussex Royal Foundation was renamed "MWX Foundation" and dissolved the same day.
In April 2020, Meghan and Harry confirmed their new foundation (in lieu of Sussex Royal) would be called "Archewell". The name stems from the Greek word "arche", which means "source of action"; the same word that inspired the name of their son. Archewell was registered in the United States. Its website was officially launched in October 2020.
Oprah's interview
Harry and his wife were interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in a television special for CBS, broadcast on 7 March 2021. Meghan spoke about marriage, motherhood, and the pressures of public life. Harry joined her later, and the pair talked about the initial difficulties associated with their move to the United States in 2020 and their plans for the future. During the interview, Harry criticised his father's parenting style, mentioned his father did not answer his calls and had cut him off financially, and he had no relationship with his brother. There was a wide and polarised reaction to the interview.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
Harry was originally styled "His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales". He used Wales as his surname for military purposes and was known as "Captain Harry Wales" in such contexts.
On the morning of his wedding, Queen Elizabeth II granted him the Dukedom of Sussex, the Earldom of Dumbarton and Barony of Kilkeel. He thus became known as "His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex". He uses the earldom in Scotland and the barony in Northern Ireland. On 18 January 2020, Buckingham Palace announced that, following their decision to step back from royal duties, from 31 March 2020 Harry and his wife would not use their Royal Highness styles in practice. They were not legally stripped of any styles or titles.
Military ranks
United Kingdom
8 May 2005: Officer cadet, The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst- 13 April 2006: Cornet (Second Lieutenant), The Blues and Royals
- 13 April 2008: Lieutenant, The Blues and Royals
- 16 April 2011: Captain, The Blues and Royals
14 May 2018: Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy- 14 May 2018: Major, Army
14 May 2018: Squadron Leader, Royal Air Force
Honours
6 February 2002: Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
5 May 2008: Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan
6 February 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
4 June 2015: Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO)
6 February 2022: Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
- Foreign
Appointments
- 13 October 2018 – 19 February 2021: Personal Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty The Queen (ADC)
- Fellowships
6 March 2012 – present: Honorary Fellow of the University of the West Indies
Former honorary military appointments
- United Kingdom
- 8 August 2006 – 19 February 2021: Commodore-in-Chief of Small Ships and Diving
- 3 October 2008 – 19 February 2021: Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington
19 December 2017 – 19 February 2021: Captain General Royal Marines
In February 2021, it was announced via written confirmation that Harry's honorary military appointments mentioned above were returned to Queen Elizabeth II.
Canada
10 November 2009 – present: Honorary Canadian Ranger
Humanitarian awards
Harry's charitable efforts have been recognised three times by the international community. In December 2010, the German charity Ein Herz für Kinder ("A Heart for Children") awarded him the Golden Heart Award, in recognition of his "charitable and humanitarian efforts". On 7 May 2012, the Atlantic Council awarded him its Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership Award. In August 2018, the Royal Canadian Legion granted him the 2018 Founders Award for his role in founding the Invictus Games. In October 2018, he was presented with the RSA Badge in Gold, the organisation's highest honour, for his work with injured veterans. In July 2021, Harry and Meghan were among people who were selected by UK-based charity Population Matters to receive the Change Champions award for their decision to have only two children and help with maintaining a smaller and more sustainable population. In February 2022, Harry and Meghan were selected to receive NAACP's President's Award for their work on causes related to social justice and equity. In October 2022, the couple were named as Ripple of Hope Award laureates for their work on racial justice, mental health, and other social initiatives through their foundation Archewell.
Arms
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Filmography
| Year | Title | Network | Notes | Ref. |
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| 2004 | The Forgotten Kingdom: Prince Harry in Lesotho | ITN / ITV | Also producer | |
| 2012 | The Diamond Queen | BBC | ||
| 2014 | Harry's South Pole Heroes | ITV | ||
| 2016 | Our Queen at 90 | |||
| Elizabeth at 90: A Family Tribute | BBC | |||
| Prince Harry in Africa | ITV | |||
| 2017 | Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy | |||
| Diana, 7 Days | BBC | |||
| 2018 | Queen of the World | HBO | ||
| 2019 | Harry & Meghan: An African Journey | ITV | ||
| 2020 | Rising Phoenix | Netflix | ||
| 2021 | Oprah with Meghan and Harry | CBS | ||
| The Me You Can't See | Apple TV | Also producer | ||
| 2022 | Harry & Meghan | Netflix | ||
| Live to Lead | Executive producer and presenter | |||
| 2023 | Harry: The Interview | ITV1 | ||
| 60 Minutes | CBS | |||
| Prince Harry: In His Own Words | ABC | |||
| Heart of Invictus | Netflix | Also producer | ||
| 2024 | Tabloids on Trial | ITV1 | ||
| Polo | Netflix | Executive producer | ||
| 2025 | With Love, Meghan |
See also
In Spanish: Enrique de Sussex para niños
