Harry of Wales, Prince

▪ British prince

in full  Prince Henry Charles Albert David 

born Sept. 15, 1984, London, Eng.

 

 younger son of Charles, prince of Wales, and Diana, princess of Wales.

      Like his older brother, Prince William (William of Wales, Prince), Harry attended a sequence of private schools before entering the prestigious Eton College. After graduating from Eton in 2003, Harry visited Argentina and Africa and worked on a cattle station in Australia and in an orphanage in Lesotho. Instead of going to university, Harry entered Sandhurst—Britain's leading military academy for training army officers—in May 2005. He was commissioned an officer in April 2006.

      As third in line to the British throne, Harry was often the subject of media attention, and in January 2005 he encountered intense criticism when he attended a party wearing a Nazi uniform with a swastika arm band. The prince later apologized for what he conceded was a serious error of judgment. In February 2007 it was announced that Harry's army regiment would be deployed to Iraq, but on advice from the armed services, it was decided that neither Harry nor William would serve with Britain's forces in Iraq for fear that they would become specific targets of attack and so put their fellow soldiers at excessive risk. However, the following year Harry served a 10-week tour of duty in Afghanistan after the British media agreed to not publicize details of his service; his tour ended after foreign news outlets reported his deployment.

      Active in various causes, Harry in 2006 helped found a charity for children in Lesotho; it was dedicated to his mother, who had died in 1997. In 2007 Harry and William held a memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of Diana's death.

* * *