Prince Harry's birthday: 31 pictures to mark his special day

September 15, 2015Sep 15, 2015, 4:51 PM GMT+1

Prince Henry Charles Albert David Windsor, the second son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, was born on 15 September 1984.

Dubbed "the happy prince" by Fleet Street editors, he seemed to have a gift for bringing fun and joy to those around him.

Princess Diana was determined to give William and Harry, seen with his pony Smokey at Highgrove, a normal upbringing.

The Queen has always been close to her grandsons.

The little royal arriving at Wetherby School for his first day, accompanied by a pupil who knew the ropes, his brother William.

Their childhood was full of cuddles. On this occasion William and Harry had flown to join their parents on an official visit to Canada in October 1991.

The Princess often organised down-to-earth treats such as trips to amusement parks and the cinema for her two boys.

The Queen's grandson on his first day of lessons at Eton College in the traditional tails worn at the school.

Just a few days short of his 13th birthday Harry faced unthinkable grief when Diana died following a tragic car accident in 1997. Flanked by his grandfather, brother, uncle and father, Harry walked behind his mum's coffin to pay his final respects on 6 September.

Initially William and Harry did not want to walk, but Prince Philip thought they would regret it later and told them: "If you like, I'll walk with you."

Following his mother's death, his relationship with his father, whom he and William call 'Pa', grew even closer. Charles steered him through some tricky teenage years, including a brush with drugs when he was 17.

Diana's passing when he was 12 had affected him deeply, and the Prince vowed as an adult to carry on her work.

"Harry has inherited his mother's extraordinary empathy," a senior Palace official once said. "He engages with children and young people."

Here, he is seen getting an 18th birthday card from a young Leukaemia patient, at Ormond Street Hospital.

He has also taken on her mantle in other respects, showing a close interest in her anti-landmine campaign. In 2010, the Prince visited Mozambique to inspect mine clearance projects.

After a gap year partly spent in Lesotho, Southern Africa, the Prince established a foundation there called Sentebale.

The name means Forget Me Not in the local language, a tribute to his mother's charity work and, he said, "a reminder to us all not to forget Lesotho or its children".

It targets the forgotten victims of the AIDS epidemic – the children left behind by sick parents.

His larger-than-life personality is key when it comes to raising money for charity. When Harry joined a fundraising day in the City in competition with other celebrities, he came out on top helping close a deal for £15 billion – a record sum, a slice of which was donated to Sentebale.

Harry followed his brother to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 8 May 2005. Describing his work in the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt said the young Prince was a "credit to the nation".

Officer Cadet Wales graduated from Sandhurst in April 2006, and his passing out parade was inspected by his grandmother. "Here is a face I recognise," said the Queen, provoking a broad grin from her grandson.

After five years serving as an officer, Harry was promoted to the rank of captain in the British Army in April 2011. He was awarded the coveted Apache Badge, meaning he had completed the first stage of training as an Apache helicopter pilot.

The action-man Prince returned to Afghanistan in September 2012, serving four months as a pilot.

He went on a secret ten-week tour of duty in Afghanistan in late 2007. After bravely serving on the front line, he was forced to withdraw because news of his presence was leaked.

prince harry 17 walking with the wounded

His experiences in the military have made the soldier-Prince a staunch supporter of returning veterans. One of his projects involved a trek to both the North and South Poles in 2011 and 2013 with former servicemen for the charity Walking with the Wounded.

When he trekked to the North Pole in 2011, Harry was only able to take part for four days due to military committments.

But the Prince was the first to congratulate the team when they reached the finish line. He told them via satellite phone that they were "showing off" by reaching the destination three days earlier than planned.

In 2014, Harry launched the Invictus Games, bringing together injured service personnel as a way of encouraging their rehabilitation.

His good friend Ellie Goulding, who is believed to have performed at his 30th birthday party celebrations last year, sang at the closing concert which was headlined by The Foo Fighters.

Harry has become a global star thanks to his compelling life story and charisma. The public love his spontaneous personality although it sometimes gets him in hot water too.

After the Rugby World Cup in France in 2007, he was pictured looking a little worse for wear the next day.

He commands attention even in the presence of celebrities like Kanye West and Sean 'Diddy' Combs. The rappers performed at Concert for Diana, a memorial on her birthday, 10 years after her death.

William and Kate's wedding in 2011 when Harry was his brother's best man marked a new chapter in the royal family, pushing the younger members to the fore.

He enjoys an excellent relationship with his sister-in-law Kate, who is very much part of the renaissance of the Windsor brand. Along with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Harry has established himself as one of the country's best-loved figures.

In recognition of his growing popularity and maturity the Queen personally picked Harry to represent her on a Diamond Jubilee tour. The young Prince travelled to Belize, the Bahamas and Jamaica, where he cheekily challenged Usain Bolt to a race.

A year later the charmer generated Harrymania again on a tour of Australia, bowling over young and old alike.

In June of this year, Harry announced that after ten years of service, he had made the "tough decision" to quit the army.

The royal, who holds the rank of Captain Harry Wales, released a statement writing: "From learning the hard way to stay onside with my Colour Sergeant at Sandhurst, to the incredible people I served with during two tours in Afghanistan – the experiences I have had over the last ten years will stay with me for the rest of my life. For that I will always be hugely grateful."

Before leaving for good, Harry carried out a secondment Down Under with the Australian Defence Force in April and May 2015.

In his first few days he carried out an engagement at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra where he was greeted by a fellow redhead, holding up a sign that had "Red Heads Rule!" emblazoned across the front.

While in Australia, Harry, whose next stop was New Zealand to carry out an official tour, admitted that he would like to settle down and have a partner, like his older brother William.

"Of course I would love to have kids right now but there's a process that one has to go through," Harry told Sky News. "Tours like this are great fun, hopefully I'm doing alright by myself, it would be great to have someone else next to me to share the pressure, but you know, time will come and whatever happens, happens."

Harry's next travels brought him to southern Africa, where he spent three months volunteering on different conservation projects.

Like his brother William and father Prince Charles, Harry has always supported the protection of wildlife and endangered species and he went as far as to join an anti-poaching unit in South Africa over the summer.

The Queen's grandson was based at a military camp in Kruger Park where he is understood to have joined Operation Corona run by the government. The campaign involved going on night patrols alongside the national army, with the aim of finding and stopping poachers.

Given his love for Africa, like his brother William and his late mother Princess Diana, Harry has confirmed that he will return to the majestic continent in November and December of this year.

He will visit South Africa and Lesotho, where he co-founded his charity Sentebale. One of his engagements will be to open the charity's Mamohato Children's Centre, a flagship facility to help support thousands of children living with HIV.

On his 31st birthday, Harry chose to champion a cause close to his heart. Making his return to royal duties following a summer in Africa, the popular Prince, who sported a heavy beard, watched the Battle of Britain flypast at the Goodwood Aerodrome in Sussex.

Harry was due to take part in the flypast himself but because of a mechanical failure in one of the Spitfire aircrafts, the chivalrous royal gave up his seat for 95-year-old veteran Tom Neil.

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