Since he and Meghan settled across the pond in 2020, Prince Harry has only seen his Wales niece and nephews in person a few times. This is incredibly sad and especially so because of the big plans he had for life as an uncle.

When Prince George was born in 2013 the world was mesmerised by the pictures of his proud parents holding the future King outside St Mary’s Hospital. Behind palace doors, Prince Harry was equally delighted when he privately found out he’d become an uncle for the first time.

So much so that – according to his best-selling memoir Spare – the Duke of Sussex began to think of the four things he’d love to teach Prince George. Writing in chapter 64, he described how “delighted” he was for Prince William and Kate.

“I was an uncle. Willy and Kate had welcomed their first child, George, and he was beautiful. I couldn’t wait to teach him about rugby and Rorke’s Drift, flying and corridor cricket – and maybe give him a few pointers about how to survive life in the fishbowl.”

Whether or not he taught his nephew a little about these things before he stepped back from royal duties, or has done so over the phone or video calls since, Prince George is a fan of rugby and cricket. The soon-to-be 12-year-old has joined his dad at several matches over the past few years.

He’s also thought to have eagerly taken part in a light-hearted game of “guess the aircraft” with Prince William and Louis during the flypast at Trooping the Colour. Meanwhile, as per Us Weekly in 2016, Kate reportedly shared that her eldest son was “obsessed with the air cadets and wants to join”.

Prince George’s interest in sports and military matters reflects what Prince Harry was eager to teach him about from the moment he was born. The Duke of Sussex also reflected in his memoir about the hopes he had for “popping in all the time” to see his nephew at Kensington Palace.

I wrote, “I looked forward to popping in all the time. Look! It’s Uncle Harry! ‘Ello, Just thought I’d stop by. Holding a bottle of wine and an armful of kiddie presents. Dropping to the floor and wrestling with little George.”

He shared that this didn’t end up happening as he’d envisioned, adding that he understood the Prince and Princess of Wales were very busy. Now that he, Duchess Meghan, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet live in California and the Waleses are at Adelaide Cottage just “popping in” spontaneously sadly isn’t possible anymore.

Speaking at a Sentebale event after Prince George’s birth, Prince Harry described his mission as an uncle as being to “make sure he has a good upbringing, to keep him out of harm’s way and make sure he has fun”. This is a special ethos and one he might uphold however he can from California, potentially through “fun” birthday presents and thoughtful cards.

Prince George turns 12 on 22nd July and the Sussex biography, Finding Freedom, claims that for his 2nd birthday in 2017 Prince Harry and Meghan bought him an electric ride-on SUV. This year’s day is significant as it means there’s only one more year left before he leaves Lambrook School and starts at whichever secondary school he, Prince William and Kate have chosen.