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Prince Harry is the youngest son of Prince Charles and the late Lady Diana. He was born on September 15, 1984.

▲Actually born Prince Henry of Wales, his mother decided he should be called Harry instead.

▲Harry seemed to be made for the spotlight from birth. He always looked cheerful and loved making jokes.

▲He seemed to have inherited his charm with the media from his mother: naughty, and a bit shy.

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The bond with his brother William has always been strong, starting from childhood.

▲They always seemed to be fooling around, but it was pretty clear that the youngest of the two was always the one to start it!

▲He certainly didn't grow up as your typical kid. "There’s a lot of times that both myself and my brother wish, obviously, that we were just completely normal," Harry told an interviewer.

▲Despite the circumstances, the boys' parents did everything to offer their children a normal childhood. They could even be spotted at amusement parks and McDonald's, for instance.

▲In a documentary about the late Lady Di, her boys were full of praise for their mother.

▲"She was our mom. She still is our mom. And of course, as a son I would say this, she was the best mom in the world... She smothered us with love, that’s for sure," Harry said.

▲In addition to constant media attention, the young princes would struggle with their parents' separation and eventual divorce.

▲But it all paled in comparison to the tragic death of their mother in 1997, victim of a fatal car accident.

▲"My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television," the Prince told Newsweek in 2017. "I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen."

▲It seemed that the loss of his mother contributed to his rebellion.

▲Prince Harry, just like his older brother, studied at Eton College and developed a great love for sports there. But even the school couldn't curb his rebellious nature.

▲His teenage years were characterized by instances of bad behavior. For example, there was that time he was photographed at 17 using stimulants.

▲King, formerly Prince, Charles acted decisively and sent his son to a rehab clinic for a day so he could see what drugs could do to your body.

▲Was it enough to stop Harry from public scandals? Not at all!

▲In 2005, it emerged that during a friend's costume party, Harry appeared wearing a Nazi uniform. He soon realized his mistake and apologized through his publicist, saying: "I am very sorry if I caused any offense."

▲After his apology, Prince Harry was urged by his father to visit Auschwitz. But even after this incident, Harry seemed to give the former Prince of Wales even more sleepless nights.

▲In August 2012, Prince Harry made headlines again when naked pictures of him partying in Las Vegas leaked.

▲This time, his brother intervened and advised Harry to seek professional help.

▲“My mother died when I was very young. I didn't want to be in the position I was in, but I eventually pulled my head out of the sand, started listening to people and decided to use my role for good. I am now fired up and energized and love charity stuff, meeting people and making them laugh," Harry said in a honest interview in 2017.

▲Indeed, just like his mother, he's very involved with charities. He even came up with the Invictus Games, a sports event where injured veterans compete together.

▲And don't forget: Prince Harry has also been sent to Afghanistan twice.

▲But his past "mistakes" were not for nothing. The fact that he's only human probably led to the unprecedented popularity he has today. Harry changed the way people see the British royal family, and made their image less "stiff."

▲In the meantime, Harry has grown up, although every now and then he makes statements that shake the British monarchy's foundations. "Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time," he said in 2017.

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And then there's what he had to say about his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. "I still view her more as the Queen than my grandmother. You have this huge amount of respect for your boss and I always view her as my boss—but occasionally as a grandmother," Harry shared in a documentary.

▲Prince Harry wed Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018. The new member of the royal family is no stranger to scandal herself!

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The couple's first-born child Archie is almost six years old and his sister, Lilibet Diana, is almost four. Both have been enjoying a happy, palace-free life in the States. Harry is completely financially independent from the royal family and admits that moving out of the UK was a way to run away from the British press. He said the negative coverage of him and his family was "destroying" his mental health.

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Now that he's a father and completely financially independent from the royal family, it's fascinating to trace how Prince Harry got to this point, particularly as a royal with a notably irresponsible past. While his days as a wild child are over, he's proven that he still has a whole lot of rebel in him—how else do you explain stepping down from royal duties? Plus, he's just 40, so there's still plenty of time for more scandalous moves.

With this in mind, let's take a walk down memory lane and explore the long road from British enfant terrible to respectable father to rebel ex-royal.