Full Title: His Royal Highness The Prince Henry Charles Albert David, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton, Baron Kilkeel
Known as: Harry, Duke of Sussex
Name at birth: HRH Prince Henry of Wales
Date of birth: 15/09/1984
Did you know?...The Duke of Sussex has seen active service in the army, on the frontline.
Over the past year, the Duke of Sussex has divided opinions across the media, nation, commonwealth, and world. The Duke and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stepped back as senior members of the royal family. They moved with their young son, Archie, to Canada, and then to California in the USA. The couple are no longer senior working members of the royal family, and as such have had to give up their honorary titles and positions, and patronages and presidencies. This is a huge step, but the couple continue to carry out charitable work from their new charitable foundation, Archewell. They have signed deals with Netflix and Spotify to create content, and continue to focus on areas such as education, equality, mental health, women’s rights, and supporting former military personnel. These are the areas the couple have always focused on, and so, in a way, the Sussex’s continue to be who they always were. But at the same time, they are completely different.
They do not represent the Queen in any official capacity; they have severed themselves publicly/officially, and it would seem privately/personally, from the royal family. In an interview in March 2021, the couple explained to the world the reasons behind their decisions. I have deep sympathy for the Sussex’s, and do believe that things could have been handled differently by the royal family, institution, and the Sussex’s themselves. Whilst some of their reasoning seems ambiguous, and a little delve into royal protocol would prove it so, some of it shows that communication has been amiss between royal households.
But, this is a biography blog post on the Duke of Sussex, not a post about his recent actions over the last year, although they are an important part of any biography.
The Duke was born Prince Henry of Wales, but has always been known as Harry, a name favoured by his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Harry was born in London, and is the second child of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the late Diana. The prince grew up at Kensington Palace, as well as Highgrove in Gloucestershire, and spent holidays with family at the Queen’s various houses around the UK. The Princess of Wales tried to give her sons as normal an upbringing as possible, taking them on holidays and day trips that other children would also experience.
The Prince attended Wetherby School, Ludgrove School, and Eton College. His gap year was spent in Australia and Lesotho. The African country of Lesotho left an impression on the young prince, who went on to establish a charity, Sentebale, which means, forget me not, with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, in memory of both their mothers. The charity works in Lesotho and Botswana, to help tackle HIV in children and young people, and its effect on them.
In 1997, at the age of 12, Harry’s mother, Diana, died in a car crash. The young prince had to face his grief, and also witness the effect of his mother’s death on the nation. The Prince and Princess of Wales had separated in 1992, and divorced in 1996. Harry has spoken openly about his bereavement and his struggles coping with the loss of his mother. It is the effect of this that is one of the reasons behind his decision to step back as a senior working royal. He fears, “history repeating itself,” with him and his family, as both he and his wife have struggled with the press intrusion that caused so much grief for Diana.
The Prince trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and joined the Blues and Royals regiment. He saw active service on the frontline in Afghanistan in 2007-2008, and again in 2012-2013, he resigned from the army in 2015. His experiences in the army were seen by many as the making of him, as he experienced relative normality and was treated just the same as anyone else, despite his royal status. The Duke has since worked with military charities, and founded the Invictus Games in 2014, a sporting competition between nations, for injured service men and women to compete in.
The duke married Meghan Markle, an American actress, in 2018 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. In 2019 their first child, Archie, was born. In 2021 they announced they are expecting their second child, a girl.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex carried out engagements on behalf of the Queen, including across the commonwealth, before stepping back as senior working members of the royal family in 2020. In 2021 it was confirmed that this decision was permanent, and that all their royal titles, positions, and honorary roles would revert back to the crown.
It is unclear exactly what the future looks like for the Duke and his family. But I do know that he continues to live by his principles and carry out a life of service, albeit a very different one from what many, including himself, imagined. I hope he finds contentment and peace with his family and as he carves out his new role.