Reading this thread made me look at why Harry left the army (I think the short answer is, he could have stayed on as a trainer, was too much of a security risk for further combat, did not have the academic capacity for higher rank).
I found this Fail article from 2015 about why Harry quit the army and what he'll do next. Obviously, take it with the pinch of salt any of these articles deserve, but it is an incredibly positive and flattering piece on Harry.
I thought this was interesting: I have posited on another thread that someone put the "Spare" notion into his head, and I think that person was Diana; and also that there may have been some childish agreement between Willy and Harold that they would rule together. This article begins thus:
When William and Harry were small, Princess Diana insisted that if important photographs were being taken of the future king, his younger brother was also in the picture.
She even made a point of bringing Harry to William's first day at Eton so they could be photographed together and he wouldn't feel 'left out'.
Diana was anxious for Prince Harry to be included in everything. She wanted him to avoid the traditional fate of the second-son 'spare' in the Royal Family, left without a significant role while both position and estate (income from the Duchy of Cornwall as Prince of Wales, and from the Crown Estates as sovereign) went to the first-born son.
Perhaps, had she lived, she would have succeeded.
....
'In Prince Charles's view, the spotlight on William must fall just as brightly on Harry because he sees him as a key asset to the popularity of the Royal Family,' says a senior aide. 'He, too, wants him to have equal billing within the family.'
There is no question that around the world, especially in the more distant parts of the Commonwealth whose support for the monarchy could be crucial to its extended future, Harry is more popular than William. Surprisingly, perhaps, since William is heir to the throne and the one with the beautiful, commoner wife.
But the fact is, Harry's mischievous ways and engaging manner have made him the biggest royal draw since his mother.
'He possesses a natural manner when dealing with people, remembering names and looking them in the eye,' says a courtier. 'Not everyone can do that. William, for example, is not nearly so nimble on his feet as his brother.'
Charles, however, is desperate for his son not to make the same mistakes as his own younger brother, Andrew.
Who would have thought that the Duke of York, with his suspect friends and under-age sex accusations — which he has vehemently denied — could be the one whose tacky example helps set the benchmark and tone of the Royal Family of the future?
....
His loyal staff, meanwhile, are working to ensure that there is a structure to Harry's coming months to prevent the 'second gap year' claims. His private secretary, Ed Lane Fox, for example, a laconic ex-Army officer, has helped the once notoriously thin-skinned Harry adjust more easily to criticism.
Lane Fox and Nick Loughran, the prince's press secretary, however, believe this is a narrative they can effectively handle. They also recognise that a prince so natural in front of the cameras will make a formidable fundraiser for any charity he should turn his mind to.
As Harry stands at what he admits is a 'crossroads' in his life, the world will be watching to see if this belief in him is well founded.
Princess Diana need not have worried. One way or another, the spotlight will now be on Harry whatever he does.
This was March 2015. A year or so later, Harry met Meghan.
Full article:
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3007014/Prince-Harry-left-Army-honour-mother-s-memory.html