Harry and the shopgirl: He's tipped to wed his latest blue-blooded blonde. But one of the first girls to catch Harry's eye was a humble grocery assistant who's never spoken of their secret dates...until now
After losing his beloved mother at the age of just 12, it was weeks before Prince Harry smiled in public again.
And who helped him finally set aside his grief for a few brief, joyous moments?
None other than the Spice Girls. He'd seen them perform in Johannesburg as part of a surprise trip to help him cope with the summer's overwhelming events.
Afterwards, the stars had played their part to perfection, making a fuss of him backstage and introducing him to their celebrity guests.
A few months later, the group
came to visit Harry at Highgrove, flying in by helicopter and staying
for tea. After they had gone, the delighted boy said to his father:
'That was the second best day of my life.' 'What was the best day then?' asked Charles. 'The first time I met them,' replied the prince.
Now 27, Harry has moved on - up to a point. Writing to a friend, he said his official tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen last May was 'one of the happiest times of my life - even better than meeting the Spice Girls.' But his fondness for attractive female company continues.
His latest girlfriend, 24-year-old socialite Cressida Bonas, is entirely in the traditional Harry mould: tall, blonde, leggy and well-connected. The prince was, say friends, smitten from the moment they were introduced by his cousin Eugenie last year.
'She's very stable, and a most suitable potential bride for the prince,' says one friend. 'Intellectually, she is probably his superior. I'd bet on her being the one when the time comes for him to choose his princess.'
And who helped him finally set aside his grief for a few brief, joyous moments?
None other than the Spice Girls. He'd seen them perform in Johannesburg as part of a surprise trip to help him cope with the summer's overwhelming events.
Afterwards, the stars had played their part to perfection, making a fuss of him backstage and introducing him to their celebrity guests.
Harry's girls: From a grocery girl to older
women, in the second part of our exclusive serialisation, we look at the
girls who've won Prince Harry's affections
Now 27, Harry has moved on - up to a point. Writing to a friend, he said his official tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen last May was 'one of the happiest times of my life - even better than meeting the Spice Girls.' But his fondness for attractive female company continues.
His latest girlfriend, 24-year-old socialite Cressida Bonas, is entirely in the traditional Harry mould: tall, blonde, leggy and well-connected. The prince was, say friends, smitten from the moment they were introduced by his cousin Eugenie last year.
'She's very stable, and a most suitable potential bride for the prince,' says one friend. 'Intellectually, she is probably his superior. I'd bet on her being the one when the time comes for him to choose his princess.'
