Prince Harry has revealed he is ‘excited’ to turn 40 this weekend and is plannig a celebration with family and friends as he reflected on his ‘anxious’ thirties shaped by family spats and him leaving the UK with wife Meghan.
The Duke of Sussex, who reaches the milestone on Sunday, is set to mark the occasion with a quiet affair at home with his family at his Montecito home.
After spending time with his wife and children Archie and Lilibet in California, Harry will then head off on holiday with a group of close friends.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of his birthday, he looked back on a turbulent ten years and revealed how his two young children has given him a ‘fresh perspective on life’.
Prince Harry also pledged: ‘Whatever the age, my mission is to continue showing up and doing good in the world’.
The Duke of Sussex , who reaches the milestone on Sunday, is set to mark the occasion with a quiet affair at home with his family at his Montecito home
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (pictured in Colombia last month) are set to celebrate with close friends and family at home this weekend
Of his children Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, he added: ‘Becoming a father of two incredibly kind and funny kids has given me a fresh perspective on life, as well as sharpening my focus in all my work’.
‘Being a dad is one of life’s greatest joys and has only made me more driven and more committed to making this world a better place.’
He will begin his fifth decade by jetting off with his inner circle in a similar move to his infamous Las Vegas trip in 2012.
The Duke said he had been ‘anxious’ to turn 30 in 2014, a year after returning from his second tour in Afghanistan.
But he used his ‘bad moment’ – as he described the period after returning from the war – peppered with lethargy and panic attacks to found the Invictus Games, which has since helped thousands of ex-service personnel around the world.
Harry turned 30 just a few months after breaking up with Cressida Bonas, before meeting Meghan Markle two years later.
This marked the start of a particularly trying period in the prince’s life, after he decided to move with Meghan to California and leave behind the life of a working royal for good.
Prince Harry is expected to then go on holiday with some close friends (pictured in Las Vegas in 2012)
The Duke said he had been ‘anxious’ to turn 30 in 2014, a year after returning from his second tour in Afghanistan
After returning home from his second tour in Afghanistan, Harry set up the Invictus Games (Pictured: Harry speaks with a Gurkha in Helmand in 2008)
It is not thought Prince William will feature in Harry’s celebrations, in a marked difference to the Duke’s 30th
Ahead of his birthday this weekend, Harry told People magazine: ‘The best gift I’ve ever been given is, without a doubt, my kids’
The royal rift was only made worse by the couple’s Netflix series and Harry’s memoir Spare, which made a series of allegations about poor treatment by his family, particularly his brother, Prince William.
While he celebrated his 30th with the now-Prince and Princess of Wales, Harry has barely seen William in recent years.
Ahead of his birthday this weekend, Harry told People magazine: ‘The best gift I’ve ever been given is, without a doubt, my kids. I enjoy watching them grow every single day, and I love being their dad.’
People – which is known to be close to the Sussexes – also reported that Harry was now ‘focused on enjoying life’ with his family ‘after years of self-reflection’.
His 40th birthday revels are likely to mark a stark contrast with those for his 30th, when William threw a black-tie party for his little brother at Clarence House.
Thirty of his best friends toasted Harry with cases of Highgrove champagne sent by his father Charles.
In his memoir, Harry claimed that William, 42, branded Meghan ‘difficult’, ‘rude’ and ‘abrasive’, and even accused him of pushing him into a dog bowl.
The Duke last visited the UK in May to attend a service at St Paul’s Cathedral marking ten years of the Invictus Games, the sports event he helped to launch for injured soldiers.
He previously returned to the UK in February to see his father, King Charles III, after he revealed his ongoing battle with an unspecified form of cancer.
