We already know that Prince Harry was never your typical royal.
From his partying playboy antics in his twenties to his marriage to American divorcee Meghan Markle. He’s never really played by the rules.
But what are the more overlooked aspects of Prince Harry’s character?
This article will explore his underappreciated traits.
1) He is humble
He’s arguably one of the most famous men on the planet, but he still seems to come across as pretty grounded.
Prince Harry (or Haz, as he is apparently known to friends) has a humility that is pretty underappreciated.
When talking about his decision to step back from royal life to protect his family, he said:
“I think anyone else in my situation would have done the same thing”
But would they?
This humble approach to quite a bold act shows how unassuming he can be.
Whilst it’s not totally unheard of (Edward VIII voluntarily abdicated the throne for love), the magnitude of the sacrifices he made can’t be underestimated.
Another display of his humility can be seen in the Harry & Meghan Netflix series when we hear about the time he spent in South Africa.
Doing charity work in Lesotho the young Prince formed a strong bond with the countries Prince Seeiso.
According to his long-term friend Prince Seeiso, Harry’s lack of ego shone through from the beginning:
“I felt a warmth and acceptance that, ‘Okay, I’m here in Lesotho. I may not know about Lesotho, and I’m here to learn. I’m not here to tell,” Prince Seeiso said of Harry.
2) He is resilient
It’s easy to think that as a Prince, Harry has led a charmed life.
It’s true that being born into royalty clearly has its perks. But there are plenty of things in life that money cannot buy.
Childhood was clearly not easy for Prince Harry.
Growing up in the public eye is no mean feat. Neither did he enjoy certain freedoms that come from being just your average Joe.
But the biggest example of his resilience is in losing his mother at such a young age — 12 years old.
Speaking in his recent documentary series, Harry opened up about the death of his mom, Princess Diana:
“When my mum died we had two hats to wear. One was two grieving sons wanting to cry, grieve and process that grief because of losing our mum. And two was the royal hat – show no emotion, get out there and meet the people, shake their hands.
“I was trying to balance the whole experience of being a young boy, who was trying to deal with the loss of his mum without much support or help or guidance.”
His struggles with his mental health are also something he has spoken of in the past.
He has openly admitted that he went to therapy in his twenties after feeling “on the verge of punching someone”.
And last year he invested in special trauma therapy in order to deal with the unresolved anxiety from his grief.
3) He can be shy at times
In the opening seconds of the first documentary episode of ‘Harry & Meghan’, Prince Harry declares: “I’m nervous, why am I so nervous?”
Insecurity is quite charming for someone in his position.
Although shyness has often been seen as a generally bad quality, research says otherwise.
Evidence suggests that it may have a “positive and socially adaptive form”.
Whilst we think of confidence as a far more appealing trait, this shyness actually reveals a softness to Prince Harry that is utterly compelling and unexpected.
When Prince Harry blushes or becomes clearly embarrassed, it gives him a relatable quality.
His shyness is also evident when he talks about his first date nerves with Meghan.
“I was panicking. I was freaking out. I started sweating,” he said of their first encounter, before admitting to us: “When I walked in, I was a hot sweaty ball of mess”.
Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, once commented on Harry’s unique softer nature:
“William is very much an organiser which probably might be useful in future years. Harry is more quiet. He’s certainly a different character altogether.”
4) He is spirited
Like him or loath him, Price Harry has gumption.
Here’s why:
In the last few years, he has shown the world he has a backbone. He is prepared to stick up and fight for what he believes is right.
Rather than tow the line, he is his own man. Even when that means creating waves and breaking from what is expected of him.
It takes a lot of courage to stand up. And in many ways, he has made himself a target in doing so.
Body language expert Inbaal Honigman says in the final episodes of the documentary series, Harry revealed this spirited nature.
Taking a flight from Canada to move to California in 2020, his giddiness makes him seem visibly defiant at what he’s leaving behind:
“He calls it the ‘freedom flight’ and then does a very cheeky smile, not a smile we see often on this mature father and soldier, this is a childlike smile, as if he knows that this will be badly received by the palace and the public, and he doesn’t care anymore.”
5) He is dutiful
A lot has been made of Harry stepping back from the duties of the royal family. But he is still clearly a dutiful man.
Not least to his wife and young family.
But let’s not forget, Prince Harry served in the armed forces for 10 years. It’s something he’s described in the past as “the happiest times in my life”.
Despite his position as a high-ranking royal making him a target, he also served in active combat in Afghanistan twice.
According to reports, during his service, he had a so-called ‘brush with death’.
Recalling one particular occasion, one of Harry’s fellow soldiers, Sergeant Tom Pal revealed:
”I remember one afternoon before evening scoff or a gurkha curry was on I was sitting chatting with both Captain Russell and Prince Harry about random stuff when the camp was hit by a Chinese 107mm rocket … whoosh, bang, wallop.
“We had been attacked and we just looked at each other and Captain Russell mentioned we’d better put our body armour and helmet on. Bit late, but we did.”
6) He is funny
Prince Harry has a sense of humor that is often underrated. But we got to see more of this in the recent Netflix documentaries.
Here’s what I mean:
At one point the interviewer asked him “what position were you in?” when he proposed to Meghan.
He quickly retorted “er, downward dog” with a smirk on his face, before setting the record straight by admitting, “Of course, I got down on one knee”.
Meghan started laughing and said: “that was good, that’s really clever, you see he’s funny.”
His quick-witted comment shows his funny side. He’s also quite happy to make himself the butt of the joke it seems.
When explaining how the royal family felt about Meghan on first meeting her, he joked:
“They were surprised. Maybe surprised that a ginger could land such a beautiful woman. And such an intelligent woman.”
7) He is altruistic
One of the things that Meghan and Prince Harry first bonded over was “a life of service”.
The pair seem committed to various causes and charities that are close to their heart.
That is why altruism could be considered one of Harry’s underappreciated character traits.
His dedication to charitable work throughout the years shows that he has concern and compassion for his fellow man.
He has not only followed in his mother’s footsteps by campaigning to remove the stigma of HIV. But he has also been an outspoken advocate for improving mental health.
More recently, we learned that Harry plans to give the profits from his soon-to-be-released memoir to charity.
It’s been reported that $1.5m from writing his autobiography titled ‘Spare’ will go to good causes.
8) He is open
Prince Harry is arguably one of the most relatable members of the British royal family.
In part, that’s probably down to the fact he hasn’t toed the line. In a weird way, his missteps and mistakes throughout life help you to warm to him.
But it’s also down to this open quality that he has. He doesn’t hide behind formality in quite the same way.
Royal biographer Robert Johnson argues:
“Prince Harry, I think, is the most natural and honestly open person who is a member of the royal family at this moment in time.
“When he meets people they warm to him.
“Not because he’s a prince necessarily, but because of who he is as a person.”