The Duke of Sussex turns 41: Reflecting on Prince Harry's Armed Forces career
As the Duke of Sussex celebrates his 41st birthday, we reflect on his military contributions as a soldier and veteran.
Prince Harry served in the Army for 10 years, undertaking two tours of Afghanistan and rising to the rank of captain.
The Prince also founded the Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans.
Prince Harry's military career
During Prince Harry's decade in the Army, he undertook two operational tours of duty in Afghanistan and qualified as an Apache Aircraft Commander.
He reportedly discloses in his autobiography, Spare, that he killed 25 people in his role as an Apache pilot during his second tour of duty.
Harry reveals that he flew six missions during his second tour of duty on the frontline, which resulted in "the taking of human lives", of which he was neither proud nor ashamed.
Adding in his tell-all memoir that in the heat of combat he did not think of the 25 as "people" but instead as "chess pieces" that had been taken off the board.
Prince Harry entered Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in May 2005 to begin 44 weeks of officer training. This was after passing the Regular Commissions Board, necessary to earn a place at Sandhurst, in September 2004.
Clarence House announced in January 2006 that he was to join The Blues & Royals, after which he was commissioned on 12 April that year.
In 2007, the Prince was deployed to Afghanistan for 10 weeks, working as a forward air controller, coordinating airstrikes on Taliban positions.
However, his tour ended early following reports in the international media of his whereabouts, compromising his security.
On 25 February 2008, it was made known Prince Harry had been serving with the Army in Helmand Province for more than two months.
He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant with the Household Cavalry on 13 April 2008.
The Duke of Sussex then retrained as an Apache pilot in the Army Air Corps and returned to Afghanistan in 2012 as a helicopter co-pilot and gunner.
His decision to leave the Army was confirmed in March 2015.
Prince Harry ended his military career with the rank of captain in June that year, following a secondment to the Australian military.
General Sir Nicholas Carter, the then-Chief of the General Staff, said Prince Harry had "achieved much in his 10 years as a soldier".
He added: "He has been at the forefront throughout his service."
Former military titles and patronages
After the decision was taken by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to stand down as senior members of the Royal Family, Prince Harry returned royal patronages and honorary military appointments to the Queen.
In February 2021, it was confirmed that Harry had returned the following military appointments:
- Captain General Royal Marines
- Honorary Air Commandant, RAF Honington
- Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command
Prince Harry received promotions in all three services in June 2018, becoming a major in the Army, a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy and a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force.
However, Harry has now lost the honorary Navy and RAF ranks.
The Duke of Sussex was appointed Captain General Royal Marines in December 2017, succeeding his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the role.
That role was also one of the three military appointments he returned to the Queen.
The Invictus Games
Prince Harry is also the founder of the Invictus Games – the competition for injured, sick and wounded Armed Forces personnel and veterans, which he established in 2014.
It was also the setting for the Duke and Duchess's first public appearance together as a couple when they attended the 2017 competition in Toronto.
The couple married the following year on 19 May 2018.
Harry continues in his role as patron of the Invictus Games Foundation.
He described the men and women of the Armed Forces as his personal "role models" at an Invictus Games event in Düsseldorf in 2022.
At the event, he said he had "long believed that the service community deserves to be cheered as much as the most popular professional football teams".
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