One-time prince of parties grew in both stature and responsibility
ONCE KNOWN as the prince of parties, whose presence seemed to attract scuffles, scrapes and scandals, Prince Harry has grown in stature to become a respected charity worker and a tireless campaigner for military veterans.
But it has been a sometimes difficult journey. As a younger man he brawled with a paparazzi photographer, dabbled with cannabis and caused worldwide outrage by showing up at a fancy dress party as a Nazi.
On a raucous trip to Las Vegas in 2012, he was photographed with a woman in his hotel room during a game of strip billiards. He was, said some commentators, a potential liability.
But his openness about his demons, and in particular his battles to cope with the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales – which, he said, brought him close to a “complete breakdown” – won much praise, not least from mental health charities.
He was born, unlike his brother William, free from the responsibility of one day having to be king. He went to Eton after private nursery, pre-prep and prep school, and grew up to have a daredevil approach to sport and life in general. He spent a decade in the Army, during which time he pursued an on-off relationship with Chelsy Davy, a former model born in Zimbabwe and educated at Leeds University.
But Harry has a deeply serious side. He undertook two front-line tours of duty in Afghanistan, and began in 2002 to represent his grandmother, the Queen, overseas – travelling to Belize, the Bahamas and Jamaica to mark her Diamond Jubilee.
He sprinted with the Olympic 100m champion Usain Bolt and displayed a natural talent for endearing diplomacy by hugging and holding hands with the Jamaican Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller, just hours after she repeated her intention to hold a referendum to remove the Queen as head of state.
A two-week tour to the Caribbean in 2016, again on behalf of the Queen, saw him get tested for HIV with the singer Rihanna to raise awareness on World Aids Day.
The Royal author Penny Junor said: “He’s an exceedingly nice man. He’s kind. He’s generous and he’s thoughtful. He’s doing a really, really good job. He does deserve to be happy.”