FIRST ARTICLE
From People Magazine 2001:
It's not easy being third in line to the British throne, especially when the sight of your big brother causes schoolgirls around the world to squeal and swoon. But Prince Harry isn't exactly sulking in Prince William's shadow. William, 19, may be the original pinup prince, but the younger royal son, now 17, has become a heartbreaker too.
The carrot-topped charmer is said to have inherited Princess Diana's playful energy and naughty sense of humor. "She used to love telling smutty jokes," one family friend told PEOPLE in August. Harry was only 12 when his mother died in a tragic car accident in a Paris tunnel, but both he and William seem to have adjusted to their loss and to the dogged interest of the British press.
"They need each other in terms of moral support," one of William's pals told PEOPLE of the brothers' relationship. "Since the death of their mother, even more so."
"As they get older, the age difference diminishes and they get closer," Peter Archer, royals reporter for Britain's Press Association told PEOPLE. "They genuinely enjoy each other's company."
The boys also have a good relationship with their father, Charles, and his companion, Camilla Parker Bowles. And when Harry feels like challenging authority, he takes it out on the polo field, where he sometimes competes with his dad.
"Harry is certainly at an age where he wants to prove himself against the world," polo commentator Jim Hilston told PEOPLE. "So you see good rivalry between father and son."
Harry, 6 feet tall and a natural athlete, followed his brother to Eton, where he excels in rugby and skiing and is said to be a fairly good student. He also plays polo, hunts and is becoming a bit of a rogue -- or maybe just a typical teen. After a polo match in June, a British magazine snapped photos of him flirting with three blondes in the parking lot. The juicy pictures showed him jesting with family friend Emma Lippiatt, 19, and kissing her on the cheek.
SECOND ARTICLE
ISSUE 2201 Sunday 24 June 2001
Here's Harry, honoured guest and bottle-washer
By Andrew Alderson
PRINCE HARRY intends to spend his gap year in the Swiss Alps working in the mountain village where his father, the Prince of Wales, almost died in an avalanche.
Mad for it: Prince Harry
He has told his friends that he wants to improve his skiing while working at the Walserhof hotel in Klosters, where he has stayed during annual ski holidays with his father, his brother Prince William and friends. Friends of the Prince, who will be 17 in September and taking his year out from 2003-4, say that he will get a job in the kitchen and cellar, where he will learn about cooking and fine wine at one of the best restaurants in Switzerland.
They say that he has discussed his plans for his year between school and university with the hotel management and they are keen to accommodate his wishes. The hotel is favoured by members of European royal families and has photographs of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of York at Klosters in its reception.
Prince Harry decided to spend the winter of his gap year in Klosters after skiing there in April: a holiday that his father missed because he thought it inappropriate during the height of the foot and mouth crisis. He is expected to spend the rest of the year at another foreign destination, as yet undecided.
Prince Harry, who has two more years to complete at Eton College, has now turned his attention to his year off after hearing of Prince William's adventures in South America and Africa.
Friends of Prince Charles, who has a love of Klosters going back more than 30 years, say that he is likely to be supportive of his younger son's proposal. Prince Charles believes it important that his children see the world before settling down to their university studies and embarking on careers.
Prince Charles, however, still has painful memories of his visit to Klosters 13 years ago. He and a group of friends were skiing off piste when there was an avalanche on the slopes. His friend and equerry, Major Hugh Lindsay, was killed and another friend, Patti Palmer-Tomkinson, was seriously injured.
Prince Harry, who is more than 6ft tall, is a keen sportsman, enjoying soccer, rugby, swimming and polo. He is a fine skiier, who can now beat his elder brother in races. One friend described him as "bold and fearless, a speed merchant".
Another said: "Harry is a mad skier, very fast. Whereas William has more style, Harry prefers just to bomb straight down." For the past two years Prince Harry also tried paragliding while staying in Klosters, jumping off a mountain strapped to an instructor and a parachute.
He has been taught well and has picked up a number of tips on his technique from Bruno Sprecher, the Klosters ski guide who was with Prince Charles's party at the time of the 1988 avalanche. Klosters is one of the most sophisticated skiing resorts in Europe, a Swiss farming village with a population of just 4,000 to which the rich and famous return loyally each winter. It is full of Alpine charm and has excellent off-piste skiing.
According to friends of Prince Harry, he has fallen in love with Klosters and its nightlife. He has become friendly with several staff at the Walserhof, and also enjoys drinking - soft drinks, of course - at the bar of the Vereina Hotel and dancing at the Casa Antica nightclub.
He was determined to go to Klosters in April even though his father decided not to go and his brother was travelling in Africa. He eventually went with Tiggy Pettifer (formerly Legge-Bourke) and some schoolfriends.
Management at the Walserhof are known to be privately delighted that Prince Harry wants to spend much of his gap year at the hotel, but have been asked not to discuss it. The hotel is renowned for its discretion.
Herbert Moser, the restaurant manager and hotel spokesman, insisted last week that no job had been settled for Prince Harry at the Walserhof. He added, however: "We know that Harry loves to stay in Klosters and he loves skiing."
Prince Charles first skiied at Klosters more than 30 years ago, originally staying in a private chalet. In recent years he has become friendly with Beat and Gabi Bolliger, the owners of the small, intimate four-star Walserhof, which has 11 bedrooms and a two-star Michelin restaurant.
Yesterday a friend of Prince Charles said: "The Prince of Wales and his sons have always been incredibly well looked after by the people of Klosters who, particularly after the skiing disaster, closed ranks behind the Prince. They have always done everything to make sure that when he goes on holiday he has a proper holiday, a real rest.
Princes William and Harry have enjoyed many happy visits there, and I am not surprised that Harry wants to go back." Another friend of Prince Charles said: "Klosters is a very special place. It is great fun for kids but it also has a real charm. I am sure Harry will be very happy spending time there."
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