Who Is Prince Harry’s Mentor, Mark Dyer?
Prince Harry has shifted his entire life within the past several years. It has been well-documented that the prince struggled in the spotlight and then in his royal role. Though he hoped things would change when he married Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, they got worse in many ways.
As a result, Prince Harry decided to leave royal life behind for a new path in California. He’s also tightened his friend circle considerably. However, the prince has remained incredibly close to his mentor, Mark Dyer.
Who is Mark Dyer to Prince Harry?
Prince Harry has always been wary about being in the public eye. He even described feeling paranoid that the media was watching him during his teen years. As a result, the Duke of Sussex has always maintained a tight-knit circle of friends around him, including Dyer.
Dyer is a former Welsh Guards officer. In the 1990s, he was a royal equerry and served Prince Charles. As a result, he began especially close to Prince Harry and Prince William, particularly following Prince Diana’s tragic death in 1997.
“It was Mark, not Charles, who raised Harry after Princess Diana died,” an insider told New Idea. Though we’d take this with a grain of salt, it’s no secret that the red-headed prince is especially close to his redheaded mentor. Royal expert Penny Junor told The Sun that Prince Harry described Dyer as “one of the few people who talks some sense into him.”
Mark Dyer is not Prince Harry’s real father
There has been much speculation about Prince Harry’s parentage, especially considering Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s tense marriage, and the Duke of Sussex’s red hair.
There was speculation that Dyer was Prince Harry’s birth father for a time, which has been debunked. For years, there was also speculation that the prince’s father was cavalry officer James Hewitt, with whom Princess Diana had an affair.
However, the late princess’ former butler Paul Burrell revealed that this is impossible. “Diana didn’t know James Hewitt when Harry was born,” Burrell revealed on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here. “She hadn’t yet met James.”
Still, Dyer and Prince Harry are very close. The prince attended Dyer’s 2010 wedding and is godfather to his son, Jasper who was also a pageboy in the Sussexes’ 2018 wedding.
Mark Dyer is one of Archie Harrison’s god parents
When Prince Harry began dating Meghan in 2016, Dyer and his cousin Princess Eugenie were two of the people that he introduced her to first. “Harry introduced Meghan to Mark before anyone,” an insider told New Idea. “She instantly shared Harry’s love for him.”
Dyer ran The Sand’s End, an exclusive bar where Meghan and Harry had secret dates. Also, Dyer is now a trustee of the charity Sentebale, co-founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006.
Though the Sussexes’ have never publicly named their son Archie’s godparents, The Sunday Times named Dyer and Prince Harry’s former nanny Tiggy Pettifer as the royal toddler’s godparents.
