Prince Harry is, he has said, “excited” to be 40. He will have a party with the Duchess, their children and friends at home, Hello! magazine reports, before heading away for what has been called a “boys’ weekend” in the mountains. Sir Elton John, The Sun claims, has sent orchids.
If the Duke is given to introspection, which the existence of his memoir suggests he is, the milestone birthday is a moment to take stock of all that has happened in the past decade, and make plans for the next.
He is undoubtedly at a turning point in his working life, in which he can do almost anything he wants outside the confines of palace life as long as it pays his new bills.
The rest of this year lays out something approaching a blueprint.
Having dabbled in various paid roles (an “impact partnership” with investment firm Ethic; “Chief Impact Officer” of mental health company Better Up) and in showbiz (the now-ended Spotify deal; Netflix) he will next week return to a programme that could have come straight from his days as a working royal.
In a trip to New York from Sept 23, he will attend events with The Diana Award, The Halo Trust, his ecotourism company Travalyst, and African Parks.
He is expected to make an appearance of sorts for the annual Wellchild Awards, for seriously unwell children and their families, and there are whispers of the Sussexes’ third tour of the year to Botswana or Lesotho. He is set on working in the realm of online safety and social media harm.
December, more unexpectedly, will bring his documentary Polo, about the so-called “sport of kings” for Netflix.
It has been a short while since he has given an interview about his family back in Britain, with criticism of his Royal life recorded for ever in memoir Spare, an Oprah interview and a six-part television series, but appearing to peter out.
There is still much to resolve.
Prince Harry is still in a battle against some of the UK tabloid media over phone hacking, and appealing a decision over his taxpayer-funded security when he travels to Britain.