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Prince
Harry was born on September 13, 1984, at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington.
More
extrovert than his elder brother, he carried out his first public
engagement at the age of just eight when he joined his mother on
a visit to the base of the Light Dragoons in Germany, enthusiastic
at the prospect of donning uniform.
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| Royal
watchers were impressed with Harry's bravery at Diana's funeral
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Harry
was just short of his 13th birthday when, on the evening of 30 August
1997, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris.
At
her funeral in London, Harry joined his 15-year-old brother and
the other men of the family to walk behind the cortege.
Harry
has to a certain extent always been in the shadow of his brother,
who is second in line to the throne behind the Prince of Wales.
But
Diana's death appeared to cement a strong bond between Harry and
his father, with whom he is now said to be very close.
Like
his elder brother he is a keen sportsman, and has joined William
and his father at polo at Cirencester Park, near Highgrove. Indeed
he was expected to spend some of his gap year playing polo professionally.
Major
Mark McCann, chairman of the British Forces Foundation Team, who
plays with the Prince, says that if he worked hard, there is no
reason why Harry couldn't join the elite group of 100 professional
polo players in Britain.
"He
has got a great eye for the ball, he is young, he rides well and
has natural talent," he said.
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| Harry
is sporty and loves skiing |
Harry's
other favourite sports are skiing and shooting but his fearless
nature has sometimes attracted criticism.
Photographs
in a Sunday newspaper in 1998 of Harry abseiling head-first down
a dam revealed his fearless nature - but caused serious concern
for his safety.
He
was not wearing a helmet or a back-up rope, and climbing experts
described the incident as foolhardy.
The
devil-may-care streak in Prince Harry's nature got him into trouble
of a different kind after reports that that he had smoked cannabis
and drunk alcohol to excess before his 18th birthday.
The
drug-taking and drinking is understood to have happened over a two-month
period in the summer of 2001, when Prince Harry was 16 and Charles
and William were both away from Highgrove.
He
reportedly drank at the Rattlebone Inn pub near Highgrove and smoked
a joint at one of the frequent after-hours parties he held back
at the estate.
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| Prince
Harry is said to be more like his mother than William |
St
James's Palace confirmed the prince had "experimented with cannabis
on several occasions", but stressed his use of the drug could not
be described as "regular".
His
father reportedly sent him to a drug rehabilitation clinic for a
day to shock him after the incidents.
But
Prince Harry entered his adult years with a new maturity - demonstrating
his close bond with his mother Diana, whom he is said to resemble
in nature more closely than William, who inherited her looks.
For
his 18th birthday, instead of a lavish birthday party, Harry visited
hospital patients and the homeless, and worked on schemes involving
young offenders and health improvements in the developing world.
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| Harry's
drug-taking was exposed in the News of the World |
He
knuckled down to school work at Eton after the press reports about
his excessive partying, and it was revealed as he left Eton for
a gap year in June 2003 that he wants to become a career soldier.
On
his last day of school, St James's Palace announced the 18-year-old
would be applying to Sandhurst, the military academy - another sign
that he is determined to pursue his own way as royals traditionally
spend their military service with the Navy not the Army.
At
Eton the young prince, while not academically accomplished, distinguished
himself in art classes and on the sports field.
He
excelled at the unique Eton Wall Game, football - he supports Arsenal
- rugby, polo and cricket and in his final year he was house captain
of games and also enjoys swimming and athletics.
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