Little Bio of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex,[fn 2] KCVO (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984)[2] is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of King Charles III and his first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succession to the British throne.

Harry was educated at Wetherby School, Ludgrove School, and Eton College. He spent parts of his gap year in Australia and Lesotho, then underwent officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a cornet into the Blues and Royals, serving temporarily with his brother William and completed training as a troop leader. In 2007–2008, he served for over ten weeks in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He returned to Afghanistan for a 20-week deployment in 2012–2013 with the Army Air Corps. In June 2015, he resigned from the army.

Harry launched the Invictus Games in 2014 and remains the patron of its foundation. He also gives patronage to several other organisations, including the HALO Trust and Walking With The Wounded.[3] To encourage people to open up about their mental health issues, Harry, alongside his brother and sister-in-law Catherine, initiated the mental health awareness campaign "Heads Together" in April 2016.[4]

In 2018, Harry was made Duke of Sussex prior to his wedding to American actress Meghan Markle. They have two children, Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor. In January 2020, the couple stepped down as senior members of the royal family and moved to the Duchess's native Southern California. In October 2020, they launched Archewell Inc., an American public organisation that focuses on non-profit activities and creative media ventures. Together with his wife, Harry also sat down for a much publicised interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, with whom he also produced the mental health documentary series The Me You Can't See. He and his wife also filmed the documentary series Harry & Meghan, released in December 2022. Harry's memoir Spare was published by Penguin Random House in 2023.

Prince Harry was born in the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, on 15 September 1984 as the second child of the Prince of Wales (later King Charles III) and his first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, during the reign of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.[5][6][fn 3] He was christened Henry Charles Albert David on 21 December 1984 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie.[fn 4] Growing up, he was referred to as "Harry" by family, friends, and the public, and was nicknamed "Harold" by his brother.[10] Harry and his elder brother, William, were raised at Kensington Palace in London, and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire.[11][12] 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.[13] He began accompanying his parents on official visits at an early age; his first overseas tour was with his parents to Italy in 1985.[14] He also travelled with his family to Canada in 1991 and 1998.[15][16]

Harry's parents divorced in 1996. His mother died in a car crash in Paris the following year. Harry and William were staying with their father at Balmoral at the time, and the Prince of Wales told his sons about their mother's death.[17] At his mother's funeral, Harry, then aged 12, accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and maternal uncle Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, in walking behind the funeral cortège from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.[18]

In June 2003, Harry completed his education at Eton with two A-Levels,[21] achieving a grade B in art and D in geography, having decided to drop history of art after AS level.[22] He has been described as "a top tier athlete", having played competitive polo and rugby union.[23] One of his former teachers, Sarah Forsyth, has asserted that he was a "weak student" and that staff at Eton conspired to help him cheat on examinations.[24][25] Both Eton and Harry denied the claims.[24][26] While a tribunal made no ruling on the cheating claim, it "accepted the prince had received help in preparing his A-level 'expressive' project, which he needed to pass to secure his place at Sandhurst."[24][27] 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.[28]