Family comes first for Prince Harry on his 40th birthday in California
When the Duke of Sussex heads off into the mountains with a handful of his closest friends to celebrate his 40th birthday, he will have plenty of time to reflect.
Having spent his actual birthday on Sunday with his wife and children, he will mark the transition to his fifth decade with fresh air and, it is hoped, wise counsel.
He will have much to think about.
His 40th birthday could hardly look more different to his 30th, when he was still a bachelor on the London nightclub scene, fresh out of the Army and celebrating with a party thrown by his brother at his father’s house.
Now, as hardly needs repeating, he is on the other side of the world. His life of Royal duty is over, his palace residence swapped for a Californian mansion complete with swimming pool and mortgage, and his accent distinctly Americanised.
He is wholly estranged from Prince William and on difficult terms with his father, with whom he shares some contact but whom he is thought to have seen only once this year after learning he had cancer.
Prince Harry is, he has said, “excited” to be 40. He will have a party with the Duchess, their children and friends at home, Hello! magazine reports, before heading away for what has been called a “boys’ weekend” in the mountains. Sir Elton John, The Sun claims, has sent orchids.
If the Duke is given to introspection, which the existence of his memoir suggests he is, the milestone birthday is a moment to take stock of all that has happened in the past decade, and make plans for the next.
He is undoubtedly at a turning point in his working life, in which he can do almost anything he wants outside the confines of palace life as long as it pays his new bills.
The rest of this year lays out something approaching a blueprint.
Having dabbled in various paid roles (an “impact partnership” with investment firm Ethic; “Chief Impact Officer” of mental health company Better Up) and in showbiz (the now-ended Spotify deal; Netflix) he will next week return to a programme that could have come straight from his days as a working royal.
In a trip to New York from Sept 23, he will attend events with The Diana Award, The Halo Trust, his ecotourism company Travalyst, and African Parks.
He is expected to make an appearance of sorts for the annual Wellchild Awards, for seriously unwell children and their families, and there are whispers of the Sussexes’ third tour of the year to Botswana or Lesotho. He is set on working in the realm of online safety and social media harm.
December, more unexpectedly, will bring his documentary Polo, about the so-called “sport of kings” for Netflix.
It has been a short while since he has given an interview about his family back in Britain, with criticism of his Royal life recorded for ever in memoir Spare, an Oprah interview and a six-part television series, but appearing to peter out.
There is still much to resolve.
Prince Harry is still in a battle against some of the UK tabloid media over phone hacking, and appealing a decision over his taxpayer-funded security when he travels to Britain.
The security issue, those who know him have said, is his central preoccupation, after he claimed he could not currently bring his wife and children to his birth country.
His children’s relationship with their paternal side of the family is limited, with no sign that they will visit Britain, their grandfather the King, or their Wales cousins any time soon. His contact with William is said to be non-existent.
He has been seeking a new chief of staff, having parted ways with the last after a trial period.
In the week leading up to his birthday, the influential American trade magazine Hollywood Reporter published an unflattering report of the Sussexes’ staffing issues entitled Why Hollywood Keeps Quitting on Harry and Meghan.
In happier news, seeming to counter the narrative that the Duke and Duchess are not seen out and about much in the area they now call home, they have been photographed at the celebrity launch of their local bookshop.
As it stands, and unlikely to change, is Prince Harry’s dedication to his favourite role: that of father.
In emailed statements to US celebrity magazine People and the BBC this week, he put his role as a dad into the limelight as “one of life’s greatest joys [which] has only made me more driven and more committed to making this world a better place”.
On the topic of birthday presents, he added: “The best gift I’ve ever been given is, without doubt, my kids. I enjoy watching them grow every single day and love being their dad.”
Aside from his exercise habits, dog walks and school runs for Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the details of Prince Harry’s day-to-day new life are limited – just as he likes it.
As he draws a line under his first memoir, deciding not to update it for the paperback despite the huge sales that would guarantee, he is said to be seeking to look forward rather than back.
“Whatever the age, my mission is to continue showing up and doing good in the world,” he said.
If his 30s saw Prince Harry find freedom, perhaps his 40s are the decade to finally find peace.
