PRINCE HARRY THE RISING STAR
HE WAS once the Windsor black sheep, the second son who found himself splashed across the front pages of tabloids the world over for various embarrassments – the endless partying, the dagga, the Nazi costume, the naked billiards, the barebottomed Jacuzzi romps . . . But Harry (33) seemed to calm down as he approached his thirties, settling into his bachelor pad in Kensington Palace and, on brother William’s advice, seeking help for the grief he still harboured over his mother’s death. He left the army and eventually stepped up and accepted his royal duties – and took to them like a fish to water. “I didn’t want to be in the position I was in but I eventually pulled my head out of the sand, started listening to people and decided to use my role for good,” he said in a candid interview with Newsweek magazine. “I’m now fired up and energised and love charity stuff, meeting people and making them laugh.
“I still have a naughty streak too, which I enjoy and is how I relate to those individuals who’ve got themselves into trouble,” he added.
As royal columnist Katie Nicholl writes in Vanity Fair magazine, it’s no exaggeration to say Harry is a global superstar and one of the most popular members of the royal family, comfortably sharing the spotlight with Prince William and Kate at events. “More relaxed than his older brother and more accessible than the queen, Harry, like his late mother, has the personal touch.”
Harry has finally found his place and he’s hungry for more. “Harry has realised this is the time to really make a difference,” one of his friends said recently. “He has a profile and he wants to use it to do some good and bring about some real change.”
And this passion is a big part of how he was able to woo his beautiful fiancée. “[Charity work] was really one of the first things we connected on,” Meghan said in the engagement interview.
“It was one of the first things we started talking about when we met, just the different things we wanted to do in the world and how passionate we were about seeing change.” Harry agreed. “There’s a hell of a lot of stuff and work that needs doing. At the moment for us it’s going to be making sure our relationship is always put first. But both of us have passions for wanting to make change, change for good.”
His mom would have been proud.