• Breaking News - American Apparel Goes to Bed, Ralph Lauren Dresses ...

  AOL Style Blog - Found Jul. 3, 2009 ... of red this time instead of last year's simple navy and white. [ Fashion Week Daily ] HEY, PRINCE HARRY, GOT JEANS? Justin Timberlake is...

• Committed Megan Fox transforms lovers

  Sydney Morning Herald - Found Jul. 1, 2009 28) David Beckham (28) Kate Moss (23) Prince William (17) Miranda Kerr (15) Nicole Richie (13) Jessica Simpson (11) Prince Harry (10) Ellen... Megan wants her beau to have tattoo - Times of India Committed Megan Fox transforms lovers - The Age Fox makes lovers get tattoos of her face - LiveNews Megan Fox wants her prospective boyfriends to tattoo her name or ... - NewKerala.com Explore All

  LiveNews

• Prince Harry cosy with Natalie Imbruglia

  NEWS.com.au - Found Jun. 29, 2009 ... affair, but a cosy dinner between Natalie Imbruglia and Prince Harry has caused a stir in the UK. The pair, close friends since Harry's split... Prince Harrying on with Natalie - The Sun Prince is Harrying on with Nat - The Sun Imbruglia Fuels Royal Romance Rumours - IMDB Harry gets up close and personal with Natalie. Report, pictures - Brisbane Courier-Mail Explore All

  The Sun

• Cosy dinner: Natalie and Prince Harry cause a stir

  Herald Sun - Found Jun. 29, 2009 ... affair, but a cosy dinner between Natalie Imbruglia and Prince Harry has caused a stir in the UK. The pair, close friends since Harry's split... Natalie Imbruglia gets her prince - Music-News Natalie and Prince cause stir - Herald Sun Harry cosy with Imbruglia - Brisbane Courier-Mail Prince Harry cosy with Natalie Imbruglia - The Australian Explore All

• The Killers - Killers Dressing Room Visit From Prince Harry

  Contactmusic - Found Jun. 28, 2009 THE KILLERS received a Royal welcome before their performance at London's Hard Rock Calling - PRINCE HARRY popped into their dressing room... The Killers Get A Visit From Prince Harry - Stereoboard.com Explore All

  Contactmusic

• Prince Harry's 'ex-flame' lands plum-hosting job on BBC

  Yahoo! India - Found Jun. 29, 2009 London, June 29 (ANI): Prince Harry's alleged former girlfriend Caroline Flack has landed a new hosting job on a BBC show. Flack gets new beeb hosting job - The Sun Explore All

  The Sun

• Glasto latest

  BBC - Found Jun. 28, 2009 Also spotted were Paulo Nutini, Tim Lovejoy and TV Presenter and ex-girlfriend of Prince Harry, Caroline Flack. No sign of the Prince though.

• Royals Mark New Armed Forces Day

  Sky News - Found Jun. 27, 2009 ... an RAF Search and Rescue helicopter pilot and is a Flying Officer in the Royal Air Force while Prince Harry is a trainee helicopter pilot and... Queen leads Armed Forces Day events - Metro.co.uk UK shows support for armed services - Metro.co.uk Queen sends message on first Armed Forces Day - The Independent Princes Back Britain's First Armed Forces Day - Sky News Explore All

  Daily Express

• Kate Middleton Joins Prince William For His 27th Birthday Party

  People - Found Jun. 23, 2009 Some of William's best friends tagged along, including pal Guy Pelly and Prince Harry, who dashed down from the RAF base where he and William... Prince William celebrates birthday with gal pal - MSNBC Explore All

  MSNBC

• Kate Middleton Joins Prince William For His 27th Birthday Party

  PEOPLE.com: Top Headlines - Found Jun. 23, 2009 Prince Harry and other pals also come along for a three-day bash by the sea

Prince Henry
Full name
Henry Charles Albert David N 1
House	House of Windsor
Father	Charles, Prince of Wales
Mother	Diana, Princess of Wales
Born	15 September 1984 (1984-09-15) (age 24) St Mary's Hospital, London

Prince Henry of Wales (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984), commonly known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of 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, Henry, 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 second lieutenant into the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry Regiment – serving temporarily 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 a conservative American news aggregation website, The Drudge Report, revealed his presence.³

Early life

Henry was born 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. Baptised at St George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle, by then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, Henry's godparents were his uncle, Prince Andrew, Duke of York; his second cousin, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones; Lady Vestey; Mrs William Bartholomew; Bryan Organ; and Gerald Ward.

Diana wanted William and Henry to have a broader range of experiences than previous royal children and took both to venues that ranged from Disneyland and McDonald's to AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless.⁴ Diana, Princess of Wales, who was by then divorced from the Prince of Wales, died in a car accident in 1997. Henry and his brother and father were 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, Henry accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather, and maternal uncle in walking behind the funeral cortège from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.⁶

British Royal Family
HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH Prince William of Wales HRH Prince Henry of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH Princess Beatrice of York HRH Princess Eugenie of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex Viscount Severn Lady Louise Windsor HRH The Princess Royal 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
v • d • e

Education

Continuing on his father's precedent and like his elder brother, Henry was educated at independent schools, starting at Jane Mynors' nursery school⁷ 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 Henry in Eton went against the family tradition of sending royal children to Gordonstoun (Henry'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.⁸ He also 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

Prince Henry began to accompany his parents on official visits at an early age; his first overseas royal tour was with his parents to Italy in 1985.⁹ 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 Henry 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.¹⁰

Military career

Prince Henry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 8 May 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company.¹¹ Within a year, in April 2006, Henry completed his officer's training and was commissioned as a Cornet in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army.¹² By April 2008, whereupon he reached two years' seniority, Henry was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

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

The British Ministry of Defence and Clarence House made a joint announcement on 22 February 2007 that Prince Henry 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 Henry, who had stated that he would leave the army if he was told to remain in safety while his regiment went to war;¹³ 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."¹⁴ 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,¹⁵ and Henry was scheduled for deployment in May or June 2007, to patrol the Maysan province.¹⁶ By 16 May, however, Dannatt announced that Prince Henry would not serve in Iraq;¹⁷ concerns included Henry 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.¹⁸ 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!"¹⁹

It was reported in early June 2007 that Prince Henry 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;²⁰ rumours that were confirmed in February the following year, when the British Ministry of Defence revealed that Henry had secretly been deployed as a Forward Air Controller to Helmand Province in the Asian country.²¹ The revelation came after the media – notably, the German newspaper Bild and Australian magazine New Idea²²²³ – breached the blackout placed over the information by the Canadian and British authorities.²⁴ It was later reported that, while in Afghanistan, Henry had called in United States Air Force air strikes,²⁵ helped Gurkha troops repel an attack from Taliban insurgents,²⁶ and performed patrol duty in hostile areas.²⁷ His tour came 735 years after his ancestor, Edward I of England (then Prince Edward), had also been on military duty in the Middle East during the Ninth crusade,²⁸ and also made Henry 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 Henry was decorated with the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan by his aunt, the Princess Royal, at the Combermere Barracks in May 2008.²⁹

In October 2008, the news was revealed that Prince Henry 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 2009.³⁰ Henry 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.³¹

Royal duties

At the age of 23, Prince Henry 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, Henry was in Lesotho to visit again 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 organisations, including WellChild, Dolen Cymru, and MapAction.³² To aid Sentebale, as well as the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and Centrepoint, Henry 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 organisations, 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.⁸

On 6 January 2009, Henry and his brother, Prince William, were granted their own royal household from their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. The household the two princes will share will have three main staff members, supported by a "small" team. Sir David Manning, the former British ambassador to Washington, will work as a part-time adviser to the princes. Previously, William and Henry's affairs had been handled by the office of their father at Clarence House in central London. The brothers' new household released a statement – complete with their own cyphers at the top – announcing that they have established their own office at nearby St. James's Palace to look after their public, military, and charitable activities.³³ Henry's cypher is similar to his brother's, but displays an H in a shade of blue similar to that used by his mother.

Personal life and relationships

Prince Henry 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.⁸ Henry also earned a reputation in his youth for being rebellious, leading the tabloid press to label him as a "wild child".³⁴ He was found at age 17 smoking cannabis and partaking in under-age drinking with his friends, would clash physically with paparazzi outside of nightclubs,³⁴ and was photographed at Highgrove House at a "Colonial and Native" themed costume party wearing a German Afrika Korps uniform, usually referred to as a Nazi uniform.³⁵ He later issued a public statement apologising for his actions.³⁶

In January 2009, the British tabloid News of the World revealed a video made by Henry three years previously, in which he referred to a Pakistani fellow officer cadet as "our little Paki friend," and later called a soldier wearing a cloth on his head a "raghead". These terms, were described by David Cameron as "unacceptable",³⁷ and by The Daily Telegraph as "racist",³⁷ and a British Muslim youth organisation called the Prince a "thug",³⁸ a statement that was later retracted.³⁹ Clarence House immediately issued an apology from Henry, who stated that no malice was intended in his remarks.⁴⁰ While the cadet's father refused to accept Henry's apology,⁴¹ a former British MP and Royal Marine, Rod Richards, said that such nicknames were common amongst military comrades, stating "in the Armed Forces people often used to call me Taffy. Others were called Yankie, Oz or Kiwi or whatever. I consider Paki as an abbreviation for Pakistani. I don't think on this occasion it was intended to be offensive."⁴² It later emerged that Prince Henry had personally apologised to the soldier.⁴³

Henry'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, Henry 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.⁴⁴ Henry and Davy were also seen together publicly at the Concert for Diana, though in 2009 it was again reported in the media that the pair had parted ways.⁴⁵

Titles, styles, honours, and arms

Titles and styles

• 15 September 1984 – : His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales

The Prince's style and title in full: His Royal Highness Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales. As a British prince, Henry 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.⁴⁶¹ Should his father succeed to the throne he will be known as His Royal Highness The Prince Henry.

Military ranks

• 13 April 2006 – 13 April 2008: Cornet (Second Lieutenant), The Blues and Royals¹²
• 13 April 2008 – : Lieutenant, The Blues and Royals⁴⁷

Honours

Medals

• 6 February 2002: Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
• 5 May 2008: Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan²⁹

Honorary military appointments

United Kingdom

• 3 October 2008 – : Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Wittering⁴⁸
• 3 October 2008 – : Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington⁴⁹
• 8 August 2006 – : Commodore-in-Chief of Small Ships and Diving⁴⁸

Arms

Arms of Prince Henry of Wales Notes On his 18th birthday, his grandmother, Elizabeth II, granted Prince Henry 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. 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 Henry'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

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

Prince Henry is descended from all kings and queens of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom with surviving offspring from William I onwards except for these four: King Henry V, King Henry VIII (their lines are both extinct), King George IV, and King William IV (Neither of whom had any surviving legitimate children.).⁵⁰ He is also descended from many of the pre-Union monarchs of Scotland and the pre-Conquest monarchs of England.

See also

• British prince
• British Royal Family
• Canadian Royal Family
• Line of succession to the British Throne
• Genealogy of the British Royal Family

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Prince Henry of Wales

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Prince Henry of Wales

• Prince Henry's eulogy to Princess Diana delivered on 31 August 2007
• Prince Henry's interview with NBC's Matt Lauer
• Royal.gov.uk - Prince Henry
• Personal Profile - Prince Harry - From Prince of Wales official Site
• Illustrated biography of Prince Henry
• Prince Harry Not Going to Iraq on Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)
• Prince Henry of Wales at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Charles, Prince of Wales Titles Prince of Wales • Prince and Great Steward of Scotland • Duke of Cornwall • Duke of Rothesay • Earl of Carrick • Earl of Chester • Baron of Renfrew • Lord of the Isles • more Family Diana, Princess of Wales (first wife) • Prince William (elder son) • Prince Henry (younger son) • Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (second wife) Events War of the Waleses • Investiture of the Prince of Wales • Second Wedding Charities The Prince's Charities • The Prince's Trust • The Prince's Drawing School · The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment • The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health • The Prince's Regeneration Trust • Business in the Community • Mutton Renaissance Campaign Miscellaneous Duchy Originals • Poundbury

v • d • e Diana, Princess of Wales Family Charles, Prince of Wales (husband) · Prince William (son) · Prince Henry (son) · John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (father) · Frances Shand Kydd (mother) · Lady Sarah McCorquodale (sister) · Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes (sister) · Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer (brother) Charity and Politics Princess of Wales · International Campaign to Ban Landmines · Ottawa Treaty · Landmine Survivors Network Marital events War of the Waleses · Camillagate · Squidgygate Death Conspiracy Theories · Funeral · Operation Paget Memorials Candle in the Wind 1997 · Concert for Diana · Diana Memorial Award · Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain · Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund · Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground · Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk · The New School at West Heath Popular culture, film, and literature Diana: Last Days of a Princess · The Diana Chronicles · The Queen · Diana: Warrior Princess · Princess Diana's Revenge · Henrietta Hunter