Prince Harry 'Slowly Starting to Feel Old' Days From 30th Birthday
The prince also just found out he will be an uncle for the second time
— -- Prince Harry is days away from turning 30 and just found out he will soon be an uncle for the second time, thanks to big brother Prince William.
Could the times be catching up with him?
"I'm slowly starting to feel old,” the 29-year-old prince, whose birthday is Monday, told reporters today at an event in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England.
“I think 30 is one of those first milestones when you drive through a village and you see the 30 mph signs, it’s that constant reminder going, ‘I am actually quite old,’” he said.
Old is not the adjective typically used to describe Harry, now the fourth-in-line to the British throne, who is better known for partying in Las Vegas, boogieing in Belize and, more seriously, serving on the front lines in Afghanistan, than he is for any kind of slowing down.
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“But, no, I don’t feel too old,” Harry went on say, validating his public persona. "I think I am always young at heart.”
Harry said what’s helping him to feel young is his work on the Invictus Games, an athletic competition for wounded servicemen and women from around the globe that kicks off Wednesday in London.
Harry brought the idea for the games back to London after taking part in the U.S. version, called the Warrior Games, in Colorado in 2013.
“The Americans made it, I stole it and we made it bigger,” Harry said today as he handed out the first medals of the inaugural Invictus Games for a driving challenge at Jaguar Land Rover, according to the BBC.
The cause of helping wounded soldiers is one close to Harry’s heart. He joined the British Army in May 2005 and rose to the rank of Apache helicopter commander in July after three years of training. The British Defense Ministry named Harry the best front-seat pilot, or co-pilot gunner, in February 2012 from his class of more than 20 fellow Apache helicopter pilots.
The prince returned to England in January 2013 from a five-month deployment to Afghanistan with the Royal Air Force’s 662 Squadron of the Army Air Corps, where he served as an Apache co-pilot gunner.
“Surrounding myself with these guys and girls actually does keep me young. You’ve got to stay on the ball,” Harry said of the games’ competitors. “They’re sharp-witted and their sense of humor is on it.”