Prince HarryA neutral reference on the Duke of Sussex — soldier, founder of the Invictus Games.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's carriage procession through Windsor, 19 May 2018
The carriage procession through Windsor on 19 May 2018. Real photograph via Wikimedia Commons; see the provenance file for author and license.

Biography

Younger son of Charles III and Diana, Army officer, founder of the Invictus Games, and — since 2020 — an independent public figure in North America. The documented arc, with the contested parts labeled as contested.

Childhood (1984–2003)

Henry Charles Albert David was born 15 September 1984 at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London — the second son of Charles, then Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. He was christened Henry but has always been known as Harry. His parents separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.

On 31 August 1997, Diana died in a car crash in Paris. Harry was twelve; his brother William was fifteen. In a 2017 interview for Bryony Gordon’s Mad World podcast (The Telegraph), Harry said he had “shut down all of my emotions for the last 20 years” after her death and only sought professional help in his late twenties — his account, given on the record. The funeral’s procession — the two boys walking behind the coffin — remains one of the most widely documented images of his childhood.

Harry was educated at Jane Mynors’ nursery school, Wetherby School, Ludgrove School, and Eton College, where he graduated in 2003 with A-levels in art and geography. His 2004 gap year included time in Australia, Argentina, and Lesotho — the Lesotho visit, where he worked with orphans, led directly to Sentebale.

The soldier (2005–2015)

Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in May 2005 and was commissioned in April 2006 as a Second Lieutenant in the Blues and Royals (Household Cavalry Regiment). Details of his service are documented by the Ministry of Defence and covered in depth on the Military Service and Sandhurst to Afghanistan pages:

The working royal and founder (2006–2019)

Harry’s charitable work began during his Army years. In 2006 he co-founded Sentebale with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, supporting vulnerable children in Lesotho (later expanded to Botswana). In 2016 he, William and Catherine launched Heads Together, the mental-health campaign whose launch phase made Harry’s 2017 Mad World interview possible.

His defining project is the Invictus Games, announced in March 2014 at London’s Copper Box Arena and first staged that September: an international adaptive-sport championship for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans. The idea came from a 2013 visit to the US Warrior Games; see The Invictus Games.

He met the American actress Meghan Markle in the summer of 2016 (a blind date arranged by a mutual friend, by their account). Their engagement was announced on 27 November 2017, and they married on 19 May 2018 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. On the wedding day the Queen granted him the dukedom of Sussex. Their son Archie was born 6 May 2019.

The step-back (2020–present)

On 8 January 2020, Harry and Meghan announced they intended to “step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent.” After the Sandringham summit, Buckingham Palace confirmed (18 January 2020) that from spring 2020 they would no longer use their HRH styles, would receive no public funds, and would repay the Sovereign Grant money spent refurbishing Frogmore Cottage. In a speech at a Sentebale dinner on 19 January 2020, Harry said there had been “no other option” and that “we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you” — his words, on the record.

The couple settled in Montecito, California. Their daughter Lilibet was born 4 June 2021. They founded the Archewell philanthropic and media operation (2020), signed production deals with Netflix (September 2020) and Spotify (December 2020; ended by mutual agreement in June 2023), and gave the televised Oprah Winfrey interview on 7 March 2021 — covered as reported fact on the Oprah Interview page.

Harry published his memoir Spare on 10 January 2023 (ghostwritten by J. R. Moehringer). The publisher reported it as the fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time; its claims are tested on the Spare page. In December 2023 he won his phone-hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers (£140,600 in damages); in January 2025 he settled his claim against News Group Newspapers on the opening day of trial, with the publisher issuing a full apology — both covered on Media Litigation.

He remains fifth in line to the British throne, after his brother and his brother’s three children.

Source notes