Despite their wealth and power, the royal family is just like any other family. They celebrate one another’s birthdays, they get together for the holidays and, as we witnessed with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, they also come together to mourn lost loved ones.
Sadly, the late queen encountered health troubles and on Sept. 8, 2022, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch passed away. It was a devastating day for the royal family as many members gathered to be by her side in her final moments. Even Prince Harry, who stepped down from his royal duties in 2020, went to go and be with his family during the incredibly difficult time. The way the entire royal family has come together following Elizabeth’s passing is a testament to their closeness as a family and their humanity.
However, one other thing that all families have in common is family resemblances. Some have been widely noted within the royal family, especially Princess Charlotte of Wales’ resemblance to both her grandmother Princess Diana and her late great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
One royal whose resemblance to others in his family tends to fly under the radar is Prince Harry. With his signature red hair, Harry is quite unique in his family. However, it has been noted in the past that the prince resembled his grandfather Prince Philip when he was young.
To the surprise of many, there’s also evidence of Harry’s resemblance to his own father, King Charles III — when Charles sported a beard in the ’70s! Although he isn’t known for having facial hair, the king did try a beard once upon a time, and people can’t believe his uncanny resemblance to Harry, who’s well known for his bearded look.
Prince Harry needs no introduction. As the youngest son of King Charles III and Princess Diana, Harry was literally born in the spotlight. In fact, his first photoshoot happened to be the day after he was born, as is royal tradition.
Harry was born on Sept. 15, 1984, at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, England. Whenever a child is born in the royal family, it’s standard tradition for the parents to allow the public a quick peek at the newborn as they are leaving the hospital. These short occurrences have led to iconic images — from Diana and Charles taking their sons home, to William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales taking their own children home.
According to Marie Claire, Diana and Charles posed with Harry the day after he was born and rushed to their car to get home. The iconic photo featured Harry bundled up, while Charles looked suave in a suit and Diana wore her now-iconic red outfit, which comprised a red jacket over a white shirt with a Peter Pan collar. In fact, Kate paid homage to Diana’s hospital look after she gave birth to her second son, Prince Louis. She mimicked Diana’s outfit when she wore a bright red dress with a white Peter Pan collar.
But sadly, it seems that even from the moment Harry was born, the cracks in Diana and Charles’ marriage were evident. A documentary titled “The Princess” revealed that Charles had decided to go play polo, as per Marie Claire. A voiceover in the documentary said:
“At the entrance to Kensington Palace, the prince and princess and their baby arrive from the hospital at speed, swept in without stopping. Then, less than an hour later, Prince Charles left to play polo — something most new fathers would hardly dare to suggest.”
A second person also spoke on how Charles acted as a husband to Diana and an early father to his two young sons. “He has always carried on ever since he got married as if he were a bachelor,” the commentator said. “He’s made absolutely — and he never did from the word ‘go’ — almost any concession to being a married man with the responsibilities of a wife and now two children.” And according to The Guardian, Charles hadn’t gone to play polo alone, as Camilla, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom watched him.
After Harry’s birth, the relationship between Diana and Charles forever changed. Royal biographer Andrew Morton included transcripts of a conversation he had with the late princess in his re-release of “Diana: Her True Story – In Her Own Words.” According to Harper’s Bazaar, Diana said:
“Charles and I were very, very close to each other the six weeks before Harry was born, the closest we’ve ever, ever been and ever will be. Then, suddenly, as Harry was born, it just went bang, our marriage. The whole thing went down the drain.”
Charles infamously had an affair with Camilla while still married to Diana, which led to their very public divorce. The king went on to date Camilla and eventually the pair married, years after Diana’s untimely passing.
While Harry has had his ups and downs with his family, this information shows how strenuous his life was from the jump. Still, he has continued to weave in and out of the royal family and spread as positive a message as possible.
Harry faced heartache early on in life when his mother passed when he was just 12 years old. In the years since Harry has opened up about his close relationship with his mother, and it’s clear she continues to be a role model for him. In fact, his philanthropic and charity work is very much influenced by her.
During an ITV documentary from 2017 called “Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy,” Harry described what his mother was really like. He explained that she was a “total kid through and through,” as per the Independent. He added, “When everybody says to me, ‘so she was fun, give us an example,’ all I can hear is her laugh in my head.” Diana had always made sure to show her boys just how deeply she cared for them. The prince explained that when she would hug him and William, “she would just engulf you and squeeze you as tight as possible.”
Even though Diana is no longer with us, it’s clear her memory and legacy have continued to live on through William and Harry. They have continued to honor the late princess and highlight just how incredible she was as a mother.
Now that they’re older, Harry and William are able to reflect more on their late mother’s impact on the world and on themselves.
“Losing your mother at such a young age does end up shaping your life massively, of course it does,” Harry said. “And now I find myself trying to be there and give advice to other people who are in similar positions.”
While William and Harry have been vocal about their adoration for Diana, it’s evident that she was just as vocal about her love for her two boys, both publicly and privately.
In fact, Harry’s closeness to his mother took on a new meaning, when he and his wife, Meghan Markle announced their departure from the royal family in early 2020. Harry had always been critical of the media, which was likely a result of how much the press hounded his late mother. So when he and Meghan opened up in their controversial, tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, it became clear that the couple had made a decision for the sake of their family.
Harry even mentioned Diana and her tragic death in his January 2020 speech when he addressed the rumors about the reason behind his and Meghan’s decision to resign as senior members of the royal family that had circulated in the tabloids and gave his side of the truth. Not only did he reference his mother, but his speech was also quite reminiscent of the late Princess Diana’s speech when she chose to step down from royal life following her divorce from Charles.
William and Harry both paid homage to their mother on July 1, 2021, when they came together at Kensington Palace to commemorate and unveil a statue of Diana on what would have been her 60th birthday. The late princess was also honored in other ways to coincide with what would have been her milestone birthday in July 2021.
Harry has carried on lessons he learned from his late mother into his own life, and even after leaving the royal family, he’s kept up his charitable work and philanthropic efforts — something that Diana dedicated much of her life to.
Nowadays, the Duke of Sussex appears to be incredibly content with his life in sunny California, as he and Meghan have since had two children, Archie and Lilibet. Compared with their time as working royals in the UK, the Sussexes have enjoyed a different kind of life in Montecito, California. It seems their new home offers a particular kind of freedom that the couple didn’t get when they were still a part of the royal family and lived in the UK.
The family’s life there is laid back and Harry and Meghan are able to parent Archie and Lilibet as they wish. In fact, Archie attends a nursery school that offers more than the traditional kinds of teachings — although those are still represented, of course.
British publication The Mirror spoke with a parent of one of the other children who attends the nursery. Unsurprisingly, little Archie seems to garner a lot less attention than he would get if he were to attend an English nursery school. The parent said:
“Harry often drops Archie off and picks him up, and seems like a good dad. All the parents have been laid back in welcoming Harry and Meghan, without making a fuss. And to the other kids, Archie is just one of them. They don’t know his parents are royalty, and probably wouldn’t care — unless Meghan was a Disney princess.”
Harry is finally able to live his life out of the spotlight and enjoy the little things in life — something that his late mother would surely be proud of him for.
As an adult, Harry is known for his striking looks, and photos that resurfaced in the last years seem to reveal just where he might have gotten his good looks from. Back in 2018, a Twitter user uploaded side-by-side images of the royals on French magazine covers. One image featured Harry and Meghan on the cover, while another was from over half a century earlier and featured Harry’s grandfather, Prince Philip. The resemblance between the two was strong, especially since Philip sported a beard in the photo. The Twitter user captioned their post:
“61 years after his grandfather was on the cover of @ParisMatch here is my shot of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on this month’s magazine.”
Another user wrote, “He looks so much like Philip,” as they posted another side-by-side comparison photo. Others stated they thought Philip was Harry at first glance, proving the resemblance between Harry and his late grandfather was certainly strong.
However, another royal Harry has an incredible resemblance to is his own father, Charles. Naturally, there is some similarity between them since Charles fathered Harry, after all, but a series of photos of Charles in his youth proved that their resemblance is closer than we might have initially thought.
When looking at photos of a young Charles in 1976, one can’t help but notice the resemblance to Harry. It happens to be when the king went through a phase where he tried out having a beard. Despite appearing very handsome, Charles mustn’t have enjoyed having facial hair, as he never donned the look again!
When comparing the physical traits of Charles and his sons, it seems that Harry is the only one who has committed to the bearded look, as it has in a way become his trademark. In fact, William also once tried out a (short-lived) beard in 2008, but he didn’t seem to stick with the look either, just like his father.
The photos of young Charles sporting a beard were originally taken in April and May of 1976 at the Badminton Horse Trials. When we look at these older pictures of Charles with a beard, it’s hard to deny that he looks a lot like Harry. Or rather, Harry looks like how Charles did with a beard! However, just like his oldest son William, who opted not to grow a beard after a short trial period, Charles has rarely donned any facial hair in public ever since.
One Twitter user pointed out the resemblance in a post from 2018. They wrote:
“Happy Birthday, HRH Prince Charles! The picture with your beard looks exactly how Prince Harry looks today (except for the red hair) — wow! Such a handsome resemblance between you and your sons!”
Others agreed and as Express reported at the time, the realization that Harry looks so much like Charles was a real light bulb moment for many. Since many believe that William shares a physical resemblance to Diana, royal fans were delighted to realize that Harry clearly takes after his father, which means that each prince has carried on the looks of their parents.
Do you see a resemblance between King Charles and Prince Harry? What about Harry and his great-grandfather Prince Philip? Let us know your thoughts and be sure to pass this article to any royal family fans you know!
