Harry’s paternal grandmother, Elizabeth II, issued letters patent on 8 February 1960 declaring his father to be a member of the House of Windsor. In July 2021, Harry and Meghan were among people who were selected by UK-based charity Population Matters to receive the Change Champions Award for their decision to have only two children and help with maintaining a smaller and more sustainable population. In December 2010, the German charity Ein Herz für Kinder (“A Heart for Children”) awarded him its Golden Heart Award, in recognition of his “charitable and humanitarian efforts”. While on his gap year in Lesotho in 2003, Harry was given the nickname Mohale (transl. ’the warrior’), a name that belonged to the younger brother of Moshoeshoe I.
- In June 2013, BritainsDNA announced that genealogical DNA tests on two of Harry and William’s distant matrilineal cousins confirm Kewark was matrilineally of Indian descent.
- In October 2019, along with other members of the royal family, Harry voiced a Public Health England announcement, for the “Every Mind Matters” mental health program.
- In March 2025, Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho resigned from their roles as patrons of Sentebale following a dispute between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board, Sophie Chandauka.
- On 8 September 2022, while Harry and Meghan were in London preparing to attend a charity event, Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and they remained in the United Kingdom for her funeral.
- Harry and his brother William inherited the “bulk” of the £12.9 million left by their mother on their respective 30th birthdays, a figure that had grown since her 1997 death to £10 million each in 2014.
Military career
The memoir is reportedly the first of a four-book publishing deal that is set to include a second book by Harry and a wellness guide by Meghan. In October 2021, Harry and Meghan announced their partnership with Ethic, a sustainable investment firm based in New York City, which also manages the couple’s investments. In the following month, UCAS reported an increase in the percentage of students declaring mental health issues on their university applications, citing self-help books and Harry’s statements on his struggles with “panic attacks and anxiety” as contributing factors.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond stated that “additional security arrangements” were put in place, for Harry could be a potential target, but added that he would face “the same risk as any other Apache pilot” while in combat. On 18 September 2012, it was reported that Harry had been moved to a safe location after an attack by the Taliban on Camp Bastion that killed two US marines. On 10 September, within days of arriving in Afghanistan, it was reported that the Taliban had threatened his life. In the same month, it was reported that Harry was top of his class in extensive training undertaken at the Naval Air Facility, El Centro, California. In June 2011, Clarence House announced that Harry would be available for deployment in current operations in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter pilot.
Army Air Corps and second deployment to Afghanistan
They gave up the lease after photos of the house and its interior were published by a paparazzi agency. In May 2018, it was reported that they had signed a two-year lease on WestfieldLarge, located on the Great Tew Estate in the Cotswolds. However, this earlier exchange of vows was not an official religious or legally recognised marriage. In early 2009, it was reported the pair had parted ways after a relationship that had lasted for five years. On 18 January 2020, Buckingham Palace announced that an agreement had been reached for Harry “to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments”. On 19 December 2017, he succeeded his grandfather Prince Philip as the Captain General Royal Marines.
News Group and Mirror Group newspapers
In October 2024, the judge announced that the two sides should either settle or go to trial in January 2025 and refused to let Harry’s team include allegations that bugs were placed in rooms and cars, and trackers placed on vehicles as “no particulars whatsoever of such allegations” were provided. In May 2024, Mr Justice Fancourt refused Harry the permission to include claims against Rupert Murdoch, expand his case’s scope back to 1994 and 1995 to cover allegations involving his mother or to add new allegations from 2016 involving his then-girlfriend Meghan. In July 2023, the judge ruled that part of Harry’s case involving allegations of illegal information gathering would go to trial but his phone-hacking claims were dismissed for being made too late. Both brothers brought a claim privately through their mutual attorneys, but Harry decided to pursue his case separately with a new solicitor in 2019.
In January 2020, lawyers issued a legal warning to the press after paparazzi photographs were published in the media. The BBC wrote to Kensington Palace apologising for the “factual inaccuracy” as George’s godfather was William van Cutsem, but it did not apologise for the comment itself as it was part of the show’s “irreverent humor”. Mr Justice Fancourt concluded Piers Morgan and other editors knew about the phone hacking at their publications and were involved in it. In June 2023, Harry testified in the court case accusing former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan of horrific personal attacks and claimed that his phone had been hacked dating back to when he was still at Eton. At the beginning of trial, MGN apologised for one instance of unlawful information gathering against Harry and added that his legal challenge “warrants compensation”. In January 2025, the two parties settled with NGN paying more than £10 million in pay outs and legal fees in the settlements involving both Harry and former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson.
He had previously visited a minefield in Mozambique with the charity and spent two days learning about their work and mine-clearing techniques. Later that month, he narrated “Hope Starts Here”, a special video rereleased by African Parks to mark the Earth Day in which he urged organisations and communities to preserve biodiversity and paid tribute to his grandfather Prince Philip for his efforts as a conservationist. They also announced their support for a vaccine equity fundraiser initiated by the same organisation, and penned an open letter to the pharmaceutical industry CEOs urging them to address the vaccine equity crisis. In May 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex together with Harry’s brother and sister-in-law launched Shout, the UK’s first 24/7 text messaging service for those who suffer from mental issues. In July 2018, the Elton John AIDS Foundation announced that the Duke of Sussex and British singer Elton John were about to launch a global coalition called MenStar that would focus “on harry casino treating HIV infections in men”. Accusations of abuse by the charity surfaced publicly in 2022 and 2024, when reports claimed that rangers managed by African Parks had been torturing, beating, raping, and forcibly displacing members of the indigenous Baka community.
Meghan Markle’s holiday special: Prince Harry’s affectionate words to Doria Ragland and stand-out moments
On 6 April 2015, Harry reported for duty to Australia’s Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin at the Royal Military College, Duntroon in Canberra, Australia. On 17 March 2015, Kensington Palace announced that Harry would leave the Armed Forces in June. In January 2015, it was reported that Harry would take on a new role in supporting wounded service personnel by working alongside members of the London District’s Personal Recovery Unit for the MOD’s Defence Recovery Capability scheme to ensure that wounded personnel have adequate recovery plans. On 17 January 2014, the Ministry of Defence announced that Harry had completed his attachment to 3 Regiment Army Air Corps, and would take up a staff officer role, SO3 (Defence Engagement) in HQ London District. Harry compared operating the Apache’s weapons systems in Afghanistan to playing video games. On 8 July 2013, the Ministry of Defence announced that Harry had successfully qualified as an Apache aircraft commander.
- He is currently fifth-in-line to the throne, although he is no longer a working member of the British royal family after giving up his senior role in 2020.
- The commission later concluded that the foundation did not act unlawfully, but criticised the board of directors for expending a “substantial proportion of funds” to setting up and closing the charity.
- In December 2025, it was announced that, for the first time since April 2019, RAVEC would reassess Harry’s threat level.
- Mr Justice Fancourt concluded Piers Morgan and other editors knew about the phone hacking at their publications and were involved in it.
- Subsequently, it was reported that the military had instructed Harry to attend a diversity course.
Prince Harry may be closer than ever to a reunion with the royal family following a significant legal win in his long running fight over security in the UK. Harry faced difficulties with obtaining and maintaining publicly funded security, both in Canada and the United Kingdom, after he and Meghan announced their self-demotion within the royal family. Prince Harry and his father, King Charles III, have reunited amid the royal family’s estrangement from the outspoken prince. Harry has previously expressed his feelings about the removal of royal security and maintained that the UK was unsafe for him and his family, including wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 4. The Duke of Sussex previously lost his court challenge after Ravec ruled he was no longer eligible for state funded security because he is no longer considered a working royal.
In early June 2007, it was reported that Harry had arrived in Canada to train alongside soldiers of the Canadian Forces and British Army, at CFB Suffield near Medicine Hat, Alberta. By 16 May, however, Dannatt announced that Harry would not serve in Iraq; 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 his life or if he were captured. In 2006 it was announced that Harry’s unit was scheduled to be deployed in Iraq the following year. The decision to place Harry at Eton went against the past practice of the Mountbatten-Windsors to send children to Gordonstoun, which his grandfather, father, two uncles, and two cousins had attended.
In May 2025, Harry was interviewed by Nada Tawfik of the BBC, during which he reflected on his loss of taxpayer-funded security and his ongoing estrangement from his family. In the interview with Bradby, Harry said that he “would like to get my father back, I would like to have my brother back”. During the interview, Harry criticised his father’s parenting style, mentioned his father did not answer his calls and had cut him off financially, and he had no relationship with his brother. Despite the palace congratulating the Duke and Duchess on the birth of their daughter Lilibet in June 2021, a few days later the BBC reported that Harry and Meghan had not sought the permission of the Queen before naming their daughter with her personal family nickname. In March 2020, the couple took Splash UK to court after the Duchess and their son were photographed without permission during a “private family outing” while staying in Canada. The publisher agreed to cover Harry’s legal costs and pay damages reported to be in the region of £300,000.
His appeal was rejected by three senior judges in May 2025 and he was likely to be held liable for the UK government’s legal fees. It was also revealed that during the proceedings Harry had leaked information via email to “a partner of Schillings” and to Johnny Mercer, for which he apologised to the court. Despite his lawyers’ attempts to have him pay no more than 50% of the Home Office’s legal costs of defending his challenge, the judge held him liable for 90% of the costs. In February 2024, the High Court ruled against Harry in his case against the Home Office and upheld the decision by RAVEC, stating that there had been no unlawfulness in the decision-making process for his security arrangements. In June 2023, a Freedom of Information request revealed that Harry’s legal fight with the Home Office had cost £502,236, with £492,000 covered by the state and the remaining £10,000 covered by Harry.
Count Nikolai supports grandmother Queen Margrethe on her big premiere night
Andy Coulson, the editor of the News of the World, apologised to Harry and his brother for invading their privacy, accepting “ultimate responsibility” for the actions of Goodman. Former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman had previously stated that he had hacked Harry’s phone on nine occasions. In October 2019, it was announced that Harry had sued the Daily Mirror, The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World “in relation to alleged phone-hacking”.