Prince Harry recalls his ‘painfully awkward’ first date with Cressida Bonas

Harry Wentworth-Stanley, associate manager at Savills estate agents, is the son of Nick Wentworth-Stanley, a debonair Old Etonian, and Clare, now the Marchioness of Milford Haven, who acquired the title in her second marriage to the Harry’s father-in-law, the Marquess of Milford Haven.

Before his relationship with his current wife became official, Harry, who is dashingly good looking and 6ft 4in tall, was considered one of London’s most eligible bachelors.

He inherited his looks from his mother, Clare, a beauty that remains stunning. There was a brother, James, four years her senior, and a younger sister, Louisa. When Harry was a child, his mother and father divorced. In 1997 Clare married George, Marquess of Milford Haven, a cousin of the Queen, himself divorced and a father of two.

The family settled in Great Trippetts, a 1,000 acre estate in the Sussex Downs. For a while, life was perfect. Clare remained on good terms with her former husband, Nick Wentworth-Stanley, who later married Dutch beauty Millie Brenninkmeyer, with whom he had three more children.

Shortly before Christmas 2006, the Marquess and Marchioness and their children went to live with Nick and his wife in Worcestershire. James, Harry’s older brother, was recovering from a relatively minor operation. The operation was a success, but James had become very anxious in the days that followed.

One evening, the family discovered that James had committed suicide. They were devastated by the tragedy.

Clare was devastated by her son’s suicide. Moving, it was Harry, then aged 17, who helped her through this ordeal. She said in an interview 18 months after James’ death: ‘For the sake of the other children you have to lead by example. If you are strong, it gives them permission to be strong. If you fall apart, they will.

“The day after James died, his brother Harry said his greatest fear was that it would destroy me, and it would destroy everything else. It suddenly made me feel how important I was.

The family set up James’ Place in his memory, a suicide prevention charity for men which now runs centers in London and Liverpool.

The couple had a serious relationship when they were both students at the University of Leeds. The pair were known to their crowd — for reasons that aren’t entirely clear — as the “Water-Cress.” The romance died down when he took off for a gap year in Argentina in 2011 after graduating.

Friends have previously said Cressida wasn’t quite over Harry when another Harry – Prince Harry himself – started pursuing her in the summer of 2012 and a romance began. There were concerts, rugby matches, ski trips and cozy nights in Kensington Palace.

However, the couple separated in 2014 after three years together.

The following year, Harry Wentworth-Stanley and Cressida were pictured on a Valentine’s Day date, although their relationship became public and official in 2017.

In August last year, Harry proposed while on a trip to the US and the couple’s smiles in the Instagram ad told followers everything they needed to know about their love for each other. other.