The Good, The Bad, The Unmentionable: Harry Through the Years

From wild child to military man to charity crusader, Prince Harry has gone from cheeky (to say the least!) to charming (for sure!). Now that his former bad boy days are seemingly behind him and matrimonial harmony with Meghan Markle is in his future, here’s a last(?) look back at His Highness’ lower –– and also more laudable –– moments.

2001

Harry, 17, confessed to his father that he had smoked marijuana several times and got drunk at parties he held at his father’s Highgrove country estate in western England.  Charles reprimanded Harry and sent him to visit a drug rehabilitation clinic in south London to see for himself how drugs can ruin young people’s lives. Harry’s gran, Queen Elizabeth, said that she was pleased with the way Papa Charles handled the problem.

2004

It’s widely known that, even before princess Diana’s tragic death, the royals have always had a complicated relationship with the paparazzi. Case in point: Prince Harry was hit in the face with a camera during a scuffle with a photographer outside a London nightclub. Official royal word was that the photographer’s lip was cut when Harry pushed the camera away. The palace said Harry acted in self-defense. The photog said the prince “deliberately lashed out.”

2004

Accusations were brought forth by one of Harry’s former art teacher at Eton College, who claimed she helped the prince cheat. Here are the deets: it’s said that she had written most of the text of the prince’s AS-level art coursework journal. Harry then used this work for his admission into another prestigious school. The palace denied the allegations, and they were never proven. The teacher was terminated but later won a case for unfair dismissal from the school.

2005

Oh man! The prince decided a perfect costume for a party would be a swastika armband and a uniform resembling that of Nazi troops. Someone at the party zoomed in and nabbed a pic of the royal, who was also clutching a cigarette and a drink, and soon the image of Harry in Nazi garb was big news. Harry made a public apology saying, “it was a poor choice of costume.”

2011

Back in the day, Harry surely lived up to his party-boy reputation. The prince and his friends took a trip to the trendy Croatian hot-spot island of Hvar. He was spotted in a club, shoeless, dressed in a cap and blue shirt and jeans, boozing it up. Then he was seen tumbling into a pool fully clothed. Life of the party!

2012

A celebrity gossip website posted pix of the then 27-year-old royal cavorting in . . . let’s just call it the “all together” . . . with an unidentified woman in a VIP suite in Las Vegas.  This was on the heels of the time he (allegedly) disrobed as part of a game of strip billiards. Someone snapped a cellie of the buff prince, ummmm, in the buff. Once the photos got out, nothing stayed in Vegas.

2013

Going against royal protocol, Harry set up a secret Facebook account under the pseudonym of “Spike Wells.” (“Spike” was a name given by his mates and used by his protection detail). Sadly, Spike had to shutdown his page after the aforementioned Vegas scandal.

Harry: The Redemption Years

2001

On his 18th birthday, he asked for the money made from the sale of his birthday photos to be donated to charity.

2002

When Harry was 19 years old, he made a documentary titled “The Forgotten Kingdom” about the dilemma of AIDS victims in Africa.

2006

Prince Harry left the Royal Military Academy and then joined The Blues and Royals as a Second Lieutenant and was promoted to Lieutenant two years later.

2006

Harry co-founded a charity called “Sentebale” in Africa to help provide support for the most vulnerable children and adolescents affected by the HIV epidemic.

2012

Prince Harry embarked on his first official solo tour, hitting the Caribbean, Latin America and South America as a royal ambassador in celebration of his grandmother’s Diamond Jubilee.

2013

The royal prince joined a team of British, Canadian and American wounded warriors on a 10-day, 130-mile race across Antarctica. Then he ended up attending the Warrior Games in Denver in 2013 (a Paralympic-like competition for wounded, injured, or sick service members). After that experience, Harry became inspired to launch a similar sports competition for wounded warriors in Britain called The Invictus Games.

2016

Prince Harry was ambassador to the Olympic Games held in Rio.

2016

Barbadian pop star Rihanna and Prince Harry joined together for the National HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in Barbados, in conjunction with World AIDS Day. The pair took an HIV test, a simple finger-prick procedure that took only a second, highlighting the importance (and ease) of testing.

2018

Harry and Meghan will team up with William and Kate as the power couples behind The Royal Foundation. The Royal Foundation, established in 2009 by William and Harry, is focused on four core areas: young people, conservation, mental health and Armed Forces. Joining the threesome, Markle will become a patron once she and Harry wed on May 19.

Ready for more royal romance? Read more about and get your copy of Royals here!