Prince Harry cuddles in the arms of his darling Mummy, Diana. The two shared a free-spirited outlook on life and Harry now channels her through his compassionate works. He’ll marry Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel, where he was christened (right).

HAPPY HUSBAND-TO-BE

PRINCE HARRYHOW MEGHAN’S PRINCE CHARMING

BECAME THE MAN HE IS TODAY

A s newly engaged Prince Harry and his bride-to-be Meghan Markle shared their

love story during their first joint TV interview, there was something about the way Meghan kept gazing into her fiancé’s eyes that spoke volumes about how deeply she knows him, understands him and truly loves him. For those of us who have followed Harry’s journey

from tot to adult, seeing him with such a devoted partner by his side was an incredibly heart-warming moment.

Harry has been through so much: the divorce of his parents, his mother’s tragic death and his personal demons dealing with the fallout. Yet despite it all, he has managed to accomplish so much and make a difference in the lives of

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lovingly indulgent. “Royal firstborns may get all the glory, but second-borns enjoy more freedom,” she once said, laughing.

As the little boy grew, he seemed at his happiest when he was nestled between older brother William, whom he idolized, and his cherished hands-on “Mummy.” While Charles was a doting father, it was free-spirited Diana who mothered the boys and helped them see the world through her empathetic eyes. From an early age, she openly showered Harry and William with affection and did her utmost to give them as normal a childhood as possible. She encouraged them to get to know the

world beyond the palace walls by taking them on official overseas tours, accompanying them on trips to amusement parks and mod-elling acts of compassion through her charity work. For young Harry, it was an idyllic life.

“It’s one of my very, very happy memories,” Harry has said of a trip he took with his mother to Disney World in Florida in 1993. “I went on Space Mountain 14 times. I was like, ‘This is absolutely fantastic, best thing ever!’”

Then, when he was just 12 years old, Harry’s perfect world came crashing down when his mother was killed in a car accident in a Paris underground tunnel – a mere year after

so many – much like his beloved mother Diana, Princess of Wales, who brought him into the world 33 years ago.

A LITTLE PRINCE IS BORNHenry Charles Albert David Moun-batten-Windsor (a.k.a. Prince Henry of Wales) was born on Sept. 15, 1984, at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, the second child of the Prince of Wales, 35, and his 23-year-old wife, Diana. Almost from day one, Diana playfully called her red-headed son “the naughty one” for his mischievous personality and sense of adventure. He was born feisty, often caught stick-ing out his tongue at photographers or making everyone laugh at his silly antics. He was the sportsman, the family prankster, the class clown and the life of the party. His mom was

‘Royal firstborns may get all the glory

but second-borns enjoy more freedom’

– PRINCESS DIANA

Charles was a loving father, but playful Diana was charged with mothering and it was her mission to give them as nor-mal a childhood as possible. Below: Diana can’t contain her excitement at seeing her sons in Toronto after a brief separation in 1991. Left: A year later, the two have a blast on a water ride at a U.K. amusement park.

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his parents parted ways. Two such blows in such a short time would be difficult for anyone, but even more so for someone so young growing up under public scrutiny. Crowds on the streets of London and those watching the funeral on TV were moved to tears as Harry and William walked solemnly behind their mother’s coffin.

Naturally, Diana’s loss had a lasting influence on both brothers but, as it became apparent, Harry internalized it differently than William did. His hi-jinks continued in earnest throughout high school and into his 20s, making headlines that caused some embar-rassment within the Royal Family.

“I never really dealt with what had happened,” Harry admitted last year while reflecting on this tumultuous time. “It was a lot of buried emotion. For a huge part of my life I didn’t really want to think about it.”

This internal angst certainly made it difficult when it came to dating. His turbulent five-year relationship to student Chelsy Davy when they were both in their early 20s ended, in part, because she didn’t want to live in the spotlight. He waited quite a few years before dating actress Cressida Bonas. That, too, ended after two years.

SOLDIERING ONThe place Harry found the most solace was, ironically, in the army. Immediately after his gap year after school – split between working on an Australian cattle ranch and with orphaned children in Africa – Harry enrolled in Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. It was a dream come true for the young man who would eventually be-come Capt. Harry Wales, starting as an officer in the Blues and Royals regiment and going on to earn his wings as an Apache helicopter pilot and serve two tours in Afghanistan.

“I’m not going to be some person in the Royal Family who just finds a lame excuse to go abroad and do all sorts of sunny holidays,” he vowed. And he proved that over and over.

By the time Harry retired from the army in 2015, he had completely reversed his reputation from a challenging child to a devoted representative of the Royal Family, a keen humanitarian, a patron of many charitable causes and the man behind the much-praised Invictus Games for ill and wounded army veterans.

‘I’m always going to have that little

child streak. It’s something I’d

like to keep!’

Joining the army was a dream come true for Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan

Above: Harry meets children on a visit to the Good Shepherd home in Lesotho, Africa, in 2006 while launching his charity, Sentebale, which means ‘forget me not’ in memory of his beloved mother. He and William always have Diana in their thoughts and honour her memory with the same energy she had. Below: With friends at the 2007 London concert marking the 10th anniversary of her death.

Above: Capt. Harry Wales talks to a solider after firing a 50-mm machine gun at Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan in 2008. Harry recently admitted that years of ignoring his anguish at the loss of his mother was detrimental to finding a suitable mate. His only two serious relationships were with Chelsy Davy (right) and Cressida Bonas (left) but both fizzled.

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Harry thrives on teamwork, both in

his charity work and in his love life

He still charms everyone he meets, whether they’re politicians and celebrities or athletes or chil-dren. He’s incredible proud to be the “fun uncle” of Prince George and Princess Charlotte and can’t wait to have kids of his own. “I’m always going to have that little, sort of – how do you say? – child streak,” he has said. “It’s some-thing I’d like to keep!”

It is only recently that Harry has begun working on his personal struggles, praising William for encouraging him to seek help and settle his mind. Given that he’s patron of many causes de-voted to mental health, he isn’t shy to talk about his struggles in order to encourage others to face their demons, too.

“I just couldn’t put my finger on it,” he said earlier this year as the 20th anniversary of his mother’s passing approached. “I just didn’t

know what was wrong with me. Be-cause of the process I have been through over the past two and a half years, I’ve now been able to take my work seriously, been able to take my private life seriously as well, and been able to put blood, sweat and tears into the things that really make a difference and things that I think will make a difference to everybody else.”

Now, with Meghan by his side, Harry has met his perfect match: a woman who’s not only beauti-ful, accomplished and full of life but who also shares his commit-ment to making the world a bet-ter place. In fact, as Meghan looked into his eyes during their interview, she made that prom-ise. “It’s time to, as you said, work as a team – with you.” No doubt, they’re stronger together.

Top: Like his mother before him, Harry visited minefields in Mozam-bique in 2010. He’s co-founder of Heads Together with William and Kate (middle), an initiative aimed at ending the stigma around mental health, and is founder of the Invictus Games (bottom, greeting kids with Michelle Obama in Orlando and right, with Meghan in Toronto this past September. It was their first and only public appearance together prior to the engagement).

REPORT: SUZANNE WINTROB

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