If you're a Prince Harry fan and are keen to know all there is to know about the former working royal, look no further than our round-up of some of the most interesting facts about the fifth-in-line to the throne.
For decades, Prince Harry – formerly the Duke of Sussex – was one of the most popular members of the British royal family. In recent years, he has divided public opinion somewhat, but there's no denying that he's still one of the most down-to-earth and relatable members of the Mountbatten-Windsor family.
He may no longer be an official working royal, but there's still lots to know about King Charles's youngest son. We take a look at some of the most fascinating facts and stories about Prince Harry – from his time serving in the army, to his relationship with Meghan Markle.
32 interesting facts about Prince Harry
Prince Harry is generally an open book and has been publicly candid about his feelings towards the royal family. However, even if you know the best Prince Harry quotes, you might not know all of these facts about the Duke of Sussex...
Harry isn’t actually his official name
Prince Harry has, of course, affectionately been known as Harry for his entire life. But Harry isn't the name he was actually born with. On 15th September 1984, Harry was born Henry Charles Albert David – so his first name isn’t technically Harry at all.
Though he was christened Henry on 21st December that same year at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, he was referred to as Harry almost immediately by family and later, friends, and the name stuck from then on. And in fact, he even went on to be given the nickname ‘Harold’ by his brother Prince William.
He has two A-levels in geography and art
As you may expect, Prince Harry was educated at several different private schools throughout his education, much like his older brother Prince William. He attended the London pre-prepatory Wetherby School, and following that, attended Ludgrove School in Windsor, around 40 minutes from Windsor Castle, where his grandparents Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip lived.
He later followed in his big brother’s footsteps by attending Eton, also in Windsor – completing his education there with two A-Levels in geography and art. However, as revealed in his 2023 memoir Spare, he wasn’t necessarily a natural student, and struggled to thrive during his studies at Eton.
He worked as a ‘jackaroo’ on a farm after school
After graduating from Eton in 2003, Harry opted to do a gap year before moving onto the next phase of his career. H decided to head to a 40,000 acre cattle farm in southern central Queensland, to live and work with friends of his late mother, Princess Diana.
There, he worked long, hard hours as a ‘jackaroo’, herding cattle on the farm on horseback. "This wasn’t merely work. Being a jackaroo required stamina, but it also demanded a certain artistry. You had to be a whisperer to animals. You had to be a reader of the skies, and the land. You also had to possess a superior level of horsemanship,"he detailed in Spare.
Harry and Meghan secretly married before their televised wedding
Meghan and Harry’s May 2018 wedding was one of the biggest royal events of the decade, but the couple actually conducted a secret ceremony a few days prior to their huge public wedding, in their Kensington Palace garden.
In Spare, he explains that while it wasn’t official or legal, he and Meghan wanted to do something private before their Windsor Castle nuptials.
The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, "with just the two of us, [dogs] Guy and Pula the only witnesses," he says. "We were grateful for every person in and around St George’s, and watching on TV, but our love began in private, and being public had been mostly pain, so we wanted the first consecration of our love, the first vows, to be private as well."
Harry used the last name Wales while in service
Despite suffering an injury to his left knee, Harry dove head first into his career in the military in 2004, training at the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. During his first few years at Sandhurst, Harry was referred to as Officer Cadet Wales, due to his father’s title (at the time) as the Prince of Wales.
He completed his officer training in April 2006, and joined the Blues and Royals, a regiment within the British Army. Two years after this, he was promoted to lieutenant.
He has (or had) a secret Instagram account
The royal family are notoriously private, and as far as most of us are aware, communicate solely through their official social media channels; such as the official Prince and Princess of Wales Instagram account as well as the general Royal Family Instagram account.
But it appears Prince Harry also had (and maybe still has) a private Instagram account that he used anonymously, to follow certain friends and to post photos on. Royal reporters have shared that his secret Instagram handle was @SpikeyMau5, and that this was reportedly the account that he and Meghan connected on before actually meeting in person.
He launched the charity Sentebale in 2004 inspired by his mother's work
Inspired by his late mother's work during the HIV/AIDs crisis, and following a 2004 trip to Lesotho in South Africa, Prince Harry set up the charity Sentebale with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, designed to support young people in Lesotho and Botswana affected by HIV.
The two Princes – who Harry explains bonded over the shared loss of their mothers – first set up the charity to help deal with the impact of the HIV/AIDs crisis, but since then, the organisation’s mission has expanded to help all young people dealing with poverty and inequality in the area.
Harry has organised multiple events in order to raise money for Sentebale, including a 2016 concert in the grounds of Kensington Palace.
Harry became a working member of the royal family at age 21
It was at the age of 21 that Prince Harry began his career as a working royal, carrying out engagements and royal duties on behalf of the Queen and his father Charles, in an official capacity.
Much of Harry’s early work as a royal focused on supporting troops and veterans, given his military career. However, he also focused heavily on supporting young people and those with mental health issues. In 2009, when Harry was 25, he and his brother William formed their own office at St. James’ Palace, as a base for handling their official duties – prior to this, the pair had been under Prince Charles’ office at Clarence House.
His first official royal trip abroad was to Canada
Visits abroad are common in the royal schedule, and Prince Harry completed his first working trip at just seven years old, when he visited Canada. He and Prince William joined the then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana, greeting the waiting press and fans in various spots across the country – though they still got time to enjoy things like a visit to Niagara Falls.
Harry then made his first official solo trip abroad in 2004 at the age of 20, when he visited Lesotho in South Africa. There, he followed in his mother’s footsteps, to raise awareness of the AIDs/HIV crisis.
He's one of the few members of the royal family to serve in a combat zone
Prince Harry is one of the only members of the royal family to have served in the military at the front line of combat, with his total length of service being around 10 years. During this period, he rose to the rank of Captain, but his army career ended on January 2013 when he returned from his second tour of Afghanistan.
During his recent AppleTV+ docuseries The Me You Can’t See, with Oprah Winfrey, Harry confessed that his decade in the military was when he was at his most happy.
"The happiest times in my life was the 10 years in the army. Without question," he said. "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 like everybody else."
"That was where I felt my most normal and actually within my younger years, the most comfortable I felt was out in Afghanistan, away from the media."
His longest relationship before Meghan was with Chelsy Davy
The former Duke of Sussex has now been married to his wife Meghan Markle since 2018. But prior to their relationship, Prince Harry’s most well-publicised, (and longest) relationship was with Chelsy Davy.
It is believed that Harry and businesswoman Chelsy first got together in 2004 after meeting in Cape Town. The former couple were fairly serious, but had an on/off relationship due to his career in the military taking him away for months at a time, and her struggles dealing with the press intrusion in her life.
The pair reportedly split for good in 2011.
He’s one of the tallest people in the royal family
Prince Harry is reported to be around 6ft 2in, making him one of the tallest people in the entire royal family. In fact, he is a close second only to his brother William, who is reported to be 6ft 3in. The third tallest in the royal family was said to be Prince Philip, who was 6ft - the same height as Harry’s uncle, Prince Andrew.
This makes Harry a fair bit taller than his wife Meghan, who is reported to be around 5ft 6in, and much taller than the Queen was, at a reported 5ft 4in. We wonder who Harry’s children Archie and Lilibet will take after?
He has struggled with agoraphobia in the past
Prince Harry has been incredibly candid about his struggles with his mental health, sharing how he has worked to overcome the grief and trauma caused by his mother’s death when he was just 12 years old.
He has openly shared how the paparazzi and press have often caused him anxiety, and that he has suffered from panic attacks in the past, as a result. In Spare, he also shared that he previously suffered from agoraphobia, “which was nearly impossible given my public role.”
Admirably, he has also been honest about his experience of therapy, which he explains was something Meghan encouraged him to seek out. Speaking to Oprah in their Apple TV+ series, he says, "I knew that if I didn't do the therapy and fix myself that I was going to lose this woman who I could see myself spending the rest of my life with."
He has launched several campaigns to help others with their mental health struggles
As well as being open about his own mental health battles, Harry – like his brother William – has been a passionate supporter of those with mental health struggles, and much of his work involves encouraging people speak out about their issues, in order to help ease the burden.
In 2017, he and the Prince and Princess of Wales launched the Heads Together campaign in order to encourage people to open up about their mental health, and he has spoken about the issue regularly since then, particularly encouraging men to speak up.
In May 2019, Harry, Meghan, Catherine and William also launched ‘Shout’ together, an 24/7 text messaging service for those who suffer from mental issues to receive support through.
He was a star athlete at school
Despite struggling academically, Harry was known to be a superior sports player whilst at school, and was even described as a “top tier athlete” by one teacher during his time at the private school Eton.
He played both polo and rugby, and even became a house games captain at Eton. In Spare, his 2023 memoir, he shared that the latter was a great way for him to let off some steam. He explained, "Sport, I decided, would be my thing at Eton. I played every dry sport [e.g. sports on land], though rugby captured my heart.
"Beautiful game, plus a good excuse to run into stuff very hard. Rugby let me indulge my rage. I simply didn't feel pain the way other boys did, which made me scary on a pitch."
He undertook a trek to the South Pole - and famously got frostbite
Perhaps one of the most famous parts of Prince Harry’s recent memoir, was when he detailed his gruelling trek to the South Pole in late December 2013 – a challenge he undertook for the Walking With The Wounded charity.
The trek lasted around two weeks, but sadly the team had to call the expedition quits before reaching their end point, due to difficult terrain and resulting safety concerns.
In Spare, Harry detailed how the trip was difficult in more ways than one – revealing that he endured frostbite on a very private, intimate area, due to the extreme cold! We'll spare you the actual quote.
He has some unusual nicknames
Nicknames are surprisingly common in the British royal family, and Prince Harry has a few of his own, given to him by various friends and family members. Those who have read Spare will know that his brother William calls him Harold, while his father King Charles most often refers to him as ‘darling boy’.
Harry’s friends have also had many affectionate names for him in the past including ‘Baz’ and ‘Spike’, which is also the name given to him by his former bodyguards, who used it as a code name to disguise Harry's identity when out and about.
And then of course, there are the nicknames Meghan has for him, including Haz and 'H', which she often used in the pair’s Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan.
He was deployed to Afghanistan twice
During his time with the army, Harry was deployed to two tours of Afghanistan, a period he details heavily in his autobiography Spare.
He was sent to Helmand Province for 10 weeks initially, before word got out that he was in Afghanistan, which led to him needing to be pulled out of the front line – for both his own safety and for others around him.
His second deployment was in September 2012. He was sent to Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan for 20 weeks, and worked as a co-pilot for an Apache helicopter, before qualifying later as an Apache aircraft commander.
He had always wanted a dog – and now has three
Dogs are almost an extension of the royal family - who could forget Queen Elizabeth II and her corgis? And, before meeting Meghan, Prince Harry shared that he’d been desperate to get his own. In Spare, he says, “I’d wanted a dog for so long, and I’d never been able to have one because I’d been such a nomad."
However, the couple and their two children, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, now have three dogs, including Meghan’s elderly beagle Guy, who she brought over to the UK from Canada.
After getting married, the couple then adopted a black labrador, named Pula. Most recently, they added another beagle, Mamma Mia, to their family, in August 2022.
He lived at Clarence House during his 20s
Both Prince Harry and Prince William grew up between Highgrove House in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, and Kensington Palace in London. But in his 20s, Harry mainly lived with his father at Clarence House, King Charles’ main residence in the capital.
Harry had his own bedroom in the five-bedroom residence, and spent almost his entire second decade living there, returning back to the home in between military training, tours of Afghanistan and royal duties.
He then moved to Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace in 2012, when he was around 28 years old.
He reportedly disliked living in LA
After years of moving all over the world – from London to Canada, and finally, the US, Harry and Meghan have finally settled in a family home in Montecito, in California, a town located around an hour and a half from Los Angeles.
The couple have spoken openly about their struggles to find a suitable place to live after leaving the royal family in 2020, especially given the restrictions of travelling during the Covid-19 pandemic and their security concerns. After briefly staying at the home of director and actor Tyler Perry, Harry, Meghan and their two children now live in an $11 million, nine-bedroom home, complete with tennis courts, swimming pool and a chicken coop. A source told Us Weekly that the Prince "absolutely hated" living in LA and the couple chose Montecito because they could have a more regular life.
In 2020, a source told Vogue, “Harry loves California, but they were both drawn to the smaller town of Santa Barbara, where they can integrate into the community while having some distance and privacy that is hard to come by in the Los Angeles area. For that reason, they had never intended to stay in Los Angeles."
He felt inspired to launch the Invictus Games after attending the US Warrior Games
Arguably one of Prince Harry’s biggest achievements is the Invictus Games, a sporting event designed for injured service men and women, where they compete in various different games, such as wheelchair basketball, 100-metre races, and indoor rowing. He was first inspired to start the event after attending the Warrior Games in the US in 2013, when he saw how the power of sport could help wounded servicemen and women in their recovery. He launched the Games on 6th March 2014, sharing that his military tours in Afghanistan had also inspired him to want to help injured and sick service women and men.
So far, seven games have been held in cities including Toronto, Sydney, London and Orlando. Harry has also involved a range of high-profile celebrities in the event over the years, including his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and the former First Lady, Michelle Obama.
Harry is particularly close with his cousin Princess Eugenie
Though Harry’s difficult relationship with his brother and his father has been highly publicised in recent years, the former Duke of Sussex has shared that he is especially close to Princess Eugenie, out of all of the members of the royal family.
In Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary, it was revealed that Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank have visited Meghan and Harry at their California home, and that the foursome even attended a secret Halloween party together before Meghan and Harry left the UK, and the royal family.
In the book Finding Freedom, authors Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie said of their friendship, "Eugenie had always been more than just a cousin to Harry. They were also the closest of friends.
"Out of all the Queen's grandchildren, Harry and Eugenie have one of the most natural connections. Harry had always confided in his cousin when it came to the women in his life. Not only did he trust her implicitly, but friends say that she gives great advice and has always been 'beyond wise' for her years."
He is a keen polo player
Outside of rugby, polo is arguably one Prince Harry’s favourite sports and hobbies, having played since he was a pupil at Eton.
Over the years, he has regularly been seen playing in polo matches across the world, from Santa Barbara, near to his current home, to Coworth Park in Ascot, UK. In fact, Prince Harry and Meghan made one of their very first public appearances together as a couple at the polo in Ascot, where Harry played with Meghan cheering him on from the sidelines.
Harry helped deliver his daughter Lilibet
Harry and Meghan’s daughter, and second child, Lilibet was born on 4th June 2021, and in his memoir, Harry revealed that he helped to deliver their baby girl at a hospital in Santa Barbara.
Detailing the moment, he said, “When the doctor said it was a question of minutes, I told Meg the first thing I wanted was for the little baby to see my face. We knew it would be a girl." When sharing that he asked if he could deliver the baby, Harry wrote, "She agreed and pressed my hand."
Harry also sweetly wrote that Meghan told him later that she had “never been as in love with him as she was in that moment.”
This Disney classic is one of his favourite films
Though we’re sure he has plenty of beloved films, Harry revealed back in 2018 that one of his absolute favourite movies is a Disney classic – The Lion King.
Speaking to a little girl at that year’s WellChild Awards, he confessed that he is a huge fan of animal film, asking her, “You know who does the voice of Zazu? Rowan Atkinson, who plays Mr Bean.” He and Meghan even attended the London premiere of the live-action Lion King film in 2019.
And Harry’s not alone in his love of the popular film; his nephew Prince George is also said to be a big fan.
He picks up litter wherever he goes
His father, King Charles, is famously environmentally conscious (as we all should be), and it appears his good-for-the-planet habits have rubbed off on his youngest son in a big way – with Harry revealing in 2018 that he often mimics one of his regular practices.
Speaking during a documentary for Charles’ 70th, he explained, “I used to get the mickey taken at school for just picking up rubbish.
"When you go for walks anywhere, if you see something, it stands out, so you pick it up. Before you know it, somebody says, 'What are you doing?' But I've literally done this because I am programmed to do it, because my father did it. And actually, we should all be doing it."
He (used to) shop at TK Maxx
You might expect a royal to shop only at the finest clothing shops, with private tailors and luxury clothing aplenty. However, it seems that Prince Harry actually shopped in some more budget-friendly stores – for at least some of his wardrobe.
In Spare, he revealed that as a working royal, "each year I received from Pa an official clothing allowance, but that was strictly for formal wear. Suits and ties, ceremonial outfits. For my everyday casual clothes I’d go to TK Maxx, the discount store.
“I was particularly fond of their once-a-year sale, when they’d be flush with items from Gap or J Crew, items that had just gone out of season or were slightly damaged,” he says. “If you timed it just right, got there on the first day of the sale, you could snag the same clothes that others were paying top prices for down the high street!"
Harry the budget shopper – he’s just like us!
‘Megxit’ was largely Harry’s decision
When Prince Harry and Meghan decided to leave the royal family, the news was largely framed as being Meghan’s idea – and was dubbed ‘Megxit’ in the news, implying that the decision was entirely the former Duchess of Sussexes.
However, Harry has since come out to state that not only does he disapprove of the term 'Megxit' itself, but that actually, their departure as working royals was largely his idea, not his wife’s.
In Spare, and in a 2021 interview with James Corden on The Late Late Show, he explained that leaving the UK and the royal family behind eventually became the only thing that he was able to do to protect his family. He explains, "We all know what the British press can be like, and it was destroying my mental health. I was like, this is toxic. So I did what any husband, and what any father, would do."
He doesn’t enjoy some of the outfits he wore as a child
In the 2017 documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, Harry jokingly revealed that he didn’t always love the outfits his mother Princess Diana put him in as a child.
“One thing I would love to ask her now, I genuinely think she got satisfaction out of dressing myself and William up in the most bizarre outfits – normally matching.
"It was weird shorts and little shiny shoes with the old clip on. Looking back at the photos it just makes me laugh and I think, 'How could you do that to us?” he laughed.
He had to ask the Queen’s permission to marry Meghan
Rules and traditions are commonplace within the monarchy, and they reared their head for Harry when he realised that he wanted to take the next step with Meghan a year into dating.
Thanks to the royal marriage law of 1772 and the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, it is required for the first six people in the line of succession to ask the monarch for permission to marry – and at the time, Harry was fifth-in-line to the throne.
In Spare, he revealed that while he didn’t approve of the rule, he opted to ask Queen Elizabeth II for permission to propose to Meghan during a family shooting trip at Sandringham - and her response was rather cryptic.
Harry wrote, "I saw her waiting for me to speak, and not waiting patiently. Her face radiated: 'Out with it'. I coughed. 'Granny, you know I love Meg very much, and I've decided that I would like to ask her to marry me, and I've been told that, er, that I have to ask your permission before I can propose.'"
“I stared at her face but it was unreadable. At last she replied, 'Well, then, I suppose I have to say yes', she said."
Harry *has* seen parts of The Crown
During his appearance on The Late Late Show in 2021, Harry revealed that, unlike other members of his family, he has seen snippets of the hit Netflix show The Crown, which so closely shares (dramatised) details of his and his family’s life.
But he did share that, though it is fictionalised, there are parts of the series that are very true to life. "It gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle, what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that,” he said.
Harry also confessed, “I’m way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family or my wife or myself."
