The Duke of Sussex turns 42 today, and the day will undoubtedly be filled with celebrations. King Charles's younger son with the late Princess Diana will mark his special day with his nearest and dearest, after having recently relocated to his homeland.
Harry and his family — wife Meghan Markle and children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet — returned to the UK in late August. It has been six years since the Sussexes left Britain for a new life in America in early 2020.
Now, as the duke celebrates his 42nd birthday in Britain, the Daily Express takes a look at some of the biggest moments in his life.
Birth and early years
Henry Charles Albert David was born on September 15, 1984, at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London. He was just one day old when he was photographed for the first time. At the time of his birth, Harry was third in line to the British throne. He is now fifth. He was christened on December 21, 1984, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie.
The duke grew up splitting his time between Kensington Palace in London and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire with his parents and older brother, Prince William. In his memoir, Spare, he recounted that he spent his summers at Balmoral's “playground”. In this picture, Harry is pictured with Prince William on their first day of school in September 1989.
Education and military service
In 1998, Harry joined Eton College, following in the footsteps of his older brother. A year prior, his world came crashing down after his mother died in a tragic car crash in Paris, France, in August 1997. Reflecting on the time following her death, Harry wrote in Spare how his young brain blocked out the trauma. He added that he can't recall what he said in those moments that would change his life forever, and how blurry and shock-ridden the subsequent days were.
In 2005, aged 21, Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales. In 2006, it was announced that Harry's unit would be deployed in Iraq the following year. The news sparked an intense debate within palace walls about whether he should be allowed to serve on the front line — but Harry was adamant he wanted to serve alongside his fellow soldiers.
Harry served in the Army for 10 years, until 2015. He completed two tours in Afghanistan as a forward air controller and as an Apache helicopter co-pilot and gunner. Talking on the Apple TV series The Me You Can't See in 2021, Harry said about his time in the Army: “The happiest times in my life were the 10 years in the army, without question. Because I got to wear the same uniform as everybody else. I had to do all the same training as everybody else. I started from the bottom up like everybody else.”
