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Prince Harry[1] (Henry Charles Albert David;[fn 1] formally styled Prince Henry of Wales; born 15 September 1984), known as Captain Harry Wales in his military role, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. His paternal grandparents are Queen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of his birth, he was third in line to succeed his grandmother; he is currently fourth in line.
After an education at schools in the United Kingdom and spending parts of hisgap year in Australia and Lesotho, Harry chose a military career, undergoing officer training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. 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 troop leader. In 2007–2008 he served for 77 days in Helmand, Afghanistan.[2]but he was pulled out following publication of the story in an Australian magazine.[3] He returned to Afghanistan for a 20-week deployment in 2012–2013 with the Army Air Corps.[4]
Harry was born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, England, on 15 September 1984.[5] He was baptised on 21 December 1984 at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle by the Archbishop of Canterbury,Robert Runcie. His godparents were The Duke of York (his paternal uncle); Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (his paternal cousin once removed); Lady Vestey; Mrs William Bartholomew; Bryan Organ; and Gerald Ward, a former officer in the Household Cavalry.[6][7]
Diana wanted Harry and his older brother William to have a broader range of experiences than previous royal children and took them to venues that ranged from Disney World and McDonald's to AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless.[8] Harry 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]
Harry's parents divorced in 1996, and his mother died following a car accident 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.[10] At his mother's funeral, Harry, then 12, accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather, and maternal uncle, Earl Spencer in walking behind the funeral cortège fromKensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.[11]
Like his father and brother, Harry was educated at independent schools. He started at Jane Mynors' nursery school and the pre-preparatory Wetherby School, both in London.[12] Following this, he attended Ludgrove School, and, after passing the entrance exams, was admitted toEton College, where he studied geography, art history and art at A-Level. The decision to place Harry at Eton went against the Windsor family tradition of sending children to Gordonstoun (Harry's grandfather, father, two uncles, and two cousins all attended); it did make Harry follow in the Spencer family footsteps, as both Diana's father and brother had attended Eton.[8]
In June 2003, Harry completed his education at Eton with two A-Levels[13] (achieving a grade B in art and D in geography) having decided to drop history of art after AS level.[14] He excelled in sports, particularly polo and rugby union.[15] Passing two A-levels, Harry was eligible to apply for an officer commission in the British Army.[16]
After school, Harry 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.[17] He also travelled to Lesotho, where he worked with orphaned children and produced the documentary film The Forgotten Kingdom.[8]
Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 8 May 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company.[18] Within a year, in April 2006, Harry completed his officer training and was commissioned as aCornet (second lieutenant) in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army. He was given the service number 564673.[19] On 13 April 2008, when he reached two years' seniority, Harry was promoted to lieutenant.[20]
The British Ministry of Defence and Clarence House made a joint announcement on 22 February 2007 that Harry would be deployed with his regiment to Iraq, as part of the 1st Mechanised Brigade of the 3rd Mechanised Division – a move supported by Harry, who had stated that he would leave the army if he was told to remain in safety while his regiment went to war;[21] 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."[22] The head of the British army at the time, General Sir Richard Dannatt, first said on 30 April 2007 that he had personally decided that Harry would serve with his unit in Iraq,[23] and Harry was scheduled for deployment in May or June 2007, to patrol theMaysan Province.[24] By 16 May, however, Dannatt announced that Prince Harry would not serve in Iraq;[25] concerns included Harry being a high-value target (as several threats by various groups had already been made against him) and the dangers the soldiers around him would face should any attempt be made on Harry's life or capture. Clarence House made public Harry's disappointment with the decision, though he said he would abide by it.[26]
It was reported in early June 2007 that Harry had arrived in Canada to train alongside soldiers of the Canadian Forces and British Army, atCFB 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;[27]rumours that were confirmed in February the following year, when the British Ministry of Defence revealed that Harry had secretly been deployed as a Forward Air Controller to Helmand Province in Afghanistan.[28] The revelation came after the media – notably, the German newspaper Bild and Australian magazine New Idea[29][not in citation given][30] – breached the blackout placed over the information by the Canadian and British authorities. It was later reported that, while in Afghanistan, Harry had helped Gurkha troops repel an attack from Taliban insurgents,[31][not in citation given] and performed patrol duty in hostile areas
His tour made Harry the first member of the Royal Family to serve in a war zone since his uncle, Prince Andrew, flew helicopters during the Falklands War. For his service, Harry was presented with an Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan by his aunt, Princess Anne, at the Combermere Barracks in May 2008.[33]
Army Air Corps and Second Tour of Duty to Afghanistan[edit]
In October 2008, it was announced that Harry was to follow his brother, father and uncle in learning to fly military helicopters. After passing the initial aptitude test, he was to undertake a month-long course; if he passed that, he would begin full flight training in early 2009.[34] Harry had to pass his flying assessment at the Army Air Corps Base (AAC), Middle Wallop, the result of which determined if he would pass on to train as a pilot of the Apache, Lynx, or Gazelle helicopter.[35] Having reached the requisite standard, Harry attended the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury, where he joined brother William.[36]
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