27 of Prince Harry's Major Royal Milestones

His Royal Highness Prince Henry Charles Albert David was christened on Dec. 21 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, which is later where Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles were to have their marriage blessed and where Princess Charlotte was christened.

In a royal first, Harry's christening was filmed and televised along with the queen's annual Christmas message four days later. Harry's christening was also marked with a poem from Poet Laureate Ted Hughes called Rain-Charm For the Duchy.

Prince George was almost 2 years old when he made his Buckingham Palace balcony debut at Trooping the Colour in 2015, and Princess Charlotte was 13 months at hers in 2016, but Harry was just 9 months old when he made his first appearance at Trooping the Colour — one of the key dates in the royal calendar.

Nothing altered the young prince's future more than losing his mother at the age of 12, and Harry finally spoke of his loss recently for the BBC documentary Diana 7 Days.

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Like his brother William before him, Harry embarked on a gap year after leaving school, and although Harry focused on three forms of work experience in three different countries, it was one in particular that left an indelible mark on him. In addition to training as cowboy in Australia and working on a polo farm in Argentina, Harry first visited the tiny African country Lesotho. The trip was planned because Lesotho had one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in Africa, and Harry saw the effects firsthand. His time in Lesotho stayed with him, and just over a year later, he found a way of putting his thoughts and feelings into action.

While Harry was in Africa on his gap year, he also started dating Zimbabwean student Chelsy Davy. She was Harry's first love, and they were together on and off for seven years.

As Harry and William grew up, their feelings toward Camilla Parker-Bowles were governed by her role in their parent's separation. However, when it became clear that their father's decades-long on/off relationship with Camilla was not going to end, the princes met her and so began the rocky process of bridge-building.

By the time Charles and Camilla married in the Spring of 2005, Harry and William's feelings toward their stepmother were growing steadily warmer, and they have also forged strong relationships with their stepbrother, Tom Parker-Bowles, and stepsister, Laura Lopes.

Harry's love of the military meant that there was one very clear calling for him: a career in the Armed Forces. In order to serve as an officer, it's necessary to train at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which is where Harry headed in May 2005. When graduating a year later, he struggled to keep a straight face as his grandmother the queen inspected the troops, but he was very serious about embarking on a career that would span the next 10 years of his life.

After being forever changed by his gap year visit to Lesotho, Harry joined forces with the country's Prince Seeiso to set up the charity Sentebale. The word Sentebale means "forget-me-not" in Lesotho and was chosen as the name of the charity as a tribute to the late mothers of the two princes. Proceeds go to helping the children of Lesotho who are affected by HIV/AIDS, and it has now been running for 11 years. Harry takes a trip to the country most years.

A 22-year-old Harry was moving forward with his military career, but also developing his royal role, and in 2007, his first three patronages were announced. He became a figurehead for Dolen Cymru and MapAction, but has been most closely associated with WellChild, attending the Wellchild Awards every Fall.

As Prince William turned 29 and Prince Harry turned 27, they officially started up their own office, rather than operating through their father's. They also set up their own charity, which they intended would give support to key areas of need, both at home and overseas.

The charity's name was changed after the royal wedding in 2011 to The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, and the royal trio continues to push forward in five predominant areas: the Armed Forces, conservation, cyberbullying, mental health, and young people.

After training as a helicopter pilot, Harry graduated in May 2010. He once more struggled to keep a straight face in a formal setting as his father, Prince Charles — Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps — awarded him his honor.

The queen's Diamond Jubilee year marked an important milestone for Harry, as he set off on his own debut solo tour. It was a big responsibility to be representing his grandmother in the four countries he visited at the relatively young age of 27, but the tour was an unequivocal success.

Harry was singled out to receive a humanitarian award for his continued support of wounded veterans, which he was presented with by former Secretary of State Colin Powell during a ceremony in Washington DC.

After his first tour of Afghanistan was thwarted four years earlier, Harry headed back to complete what he started and was able to fulfill his dream. The prince was stationed at Camp Bastion between September 2012 and January 2013.

After being introduced to the Warrior Games during a tour of North America in 2013, Harry made it his mission to create a similar event and pushed for it to be ready one year later. So in September 2014, the first Invictus Games was launched in London and were such a success that the second games were held in Miami in 2016. The third year is about to be held in Toronto, and the fourth games will be held in Sydney, Australia, next year.

Over the past two years, Harry, William, and Kate have made it one of their priorities to raise awareness of the importance of good mental health, speaking about their own struggles with mental health issues as encouragement for others to do the same.

As Harry celebrates his 33rd birthday, he is a man who has been through his fair share of battles — both actual and figurative — and he has experienced the most terrible of times, as well as the most wonderful. As he moves forward with Meghan Markle by his side and his path in life is clear, all eyes are on him to see what comes next . . .