HARRY

"Give me the boy until he is seven and I will give you the man".

Which means the character traits that form a man's personality are all in place by the time he is seven.

Thank goodness, then, that Harry spent most of his formative years with his mum because, now he is a man, there for all of us to see. And I weep!

Seven years ago I watched a young 12 year old mourn the death of his mother. He and his older brother William. They stood so tall, these two young boys, in the glaring spotlight of the entire nation. Tears in check, greeting people who were collapsing in sorrow, in grief, in tears. They walked behind their mothers coffin as it was lead, on a horse drawn cortege, and I wondered...how can they do that?

Much has been speculated about that long, long week, but this is not my purpose in writing today. This is about Harry, as in Prince Harry, Princess Diana's son.

I've always loved Harry. He has spunk, a cheeky smile, a wicked, self deprecating sense of humor. A sparkle in his eyes that transcend distance. You find yourself smiling back as you view a picture of him, or view him in video. Oh yes, he is a "typical" teenager, or was. Staying out late partying, smoking, did some pot, was caught..Oops..Papa wasn't pleased! But I love him for being HIM. A teenager! He has the sense of fun, the lust for life, the mischievousness his mum had.

Diana always said that Harry was "hers". William she knew would be "ok". He was "his fathers child" and would be King. Harry, she knew, would be in for the "second child" syndrome (even if it is a ROYAL second child syndrome). She and Harry were "soul mates". You could see it when they were together and I've seen it since Diana's death.

I think most people overlooked Harry for his older brother, William, as William bore such a striking resemblance to their mother. But I could see her in Harry. Ever since that awful August night when Diana was taken from her sons whom she was "besotted" with, I have watched and known that one day, ONE day, Harry would step up and do his mum proud. He now has, and in hearing his words, I weep.

Harry turned 20 the 15th of this month. No longer a teenager. I cannot believe little Harry is now 20! And he has proven to all to be the man Diana knew he would be, and I knew he would be.

My thoughts run at two different intersections, yet these intersections cross in harmony.

There has been much publicized in the past few days about Harry, besides it being his 20th birthday. He has recently returned from Lesotho, which is an AIDS ravaged African kingdom. He was there to visit the children with AIDS, to see what he could do, to help where he could. He said, "I believe I have a lot of my mother in me, basically, and I think she'd want us to do this". He goes on to say how he feels he is "no one special" but also seems apologetic in tone for the position he was born into, and his being there clearly showed is is very special indeed.

Continuing the work his mother had begun in her short life is wonderful in itself, but for me, I also heard, in the interview Harry recently gave, the first words about his feelings for his mother. This is a feat in itself. Puzzling to many I suppose, unless you are wrapped up in the Royal Family and know how they "work", or rather how they don't when it comes to displaying emotion, happy or sad.

As I said, I have always felt that if I were ever to hear about how William or Harry felt about their mother, it would come from Harry. (Hopefully one day William may choose to make at least a tiny portion of his feelings known to the public, but, being so much like Charles, this may not come to pass).

The interview Harry gave this week was indeed on behalf of the documentary he did on Lesotho, but he also opened up about his mum.

Harry has been hurting all this time, and, for me, I know I needed to hear him say what he did. "It has been a long time now, not for me, but to most people it's been a long time since she died.". (Oh no Harry, not to me either. The heartache will never disappear)!

From the few words he spoke, I know that Harry lives with the loss of his mum every day. It is fitting that this young man with the cheeky smile, love of life and concern for others should be the one to defend his mum's memory. "It's not a question of reminding everyone of what good she did", he continues, "because everyone knows that, hopefully."

All I can add to that is, yes Harry, I do know your mum was indeed a most rare and special person, and now all can see in you what I've seen all these years. God Bless you Harry...your mother is giving you that most beautiful grin of hers, and the hugs as only she can give.