PRINCE HARRY AT 40 WHY THE DEVOTED HUSBAND, DAD AND FORMER SOLDIER COULD STILL BE A 'FORMIDABLE ASSET TO THE MONARCHY'

They say life begins at 40, but Prince Harry has certainly packed a lot of living into his first four decades.

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Born Prince Henry Charles Albert David on Sept. 15, 1984, the younger son of King Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, has had many incarnations from red-headed little rascal and "party prince" to Capt. Wales of the Blues and Royals (with two tours of Afghanistan under his belt), dedicated husband and dad, TV personality and, perhaps most unexpected of all, bestselling author.

Along the way, the Duke of Sussex (as he was styled after his 2018 marriage to actress Meghan Markle) has put distance, both literally and figuratively, between himself and his closest relatives - namely, his father, brother Prince William and sister-in-law Princess Kate (a rupture that would have seemed unthinkable 10. years ago to even the most seasoned royal watcher).

While it's hard to conceive of a more action-packed decade than the one Harry just wrapped, we called upon Christopher Andersen, author of royal biographies Brothers and Wives and The King: The Life of Charles III, to get his take on the "spare" heir's past, present and future.

Prince Harry is turning 40. It feels like a significant milestone, doesn't it? I

It's hard for many of us to believe that Prince Harry is turning 40. Millions remember him as the young boy walking solemnly behind his mother's coffin while the entire world stood still, just one week before his 13th birthday.

To make things even more heartbreaking, among the birthday gifts he received back then was a Sony PlayStation that Princess Diana had purchased for him in Paris just days before she was killed. This year, his biggest present will be the $8.5 million he will receive from the estate of his late great-grandmother, the Queen Mother (see sidebar, page 46).