Harry's LONELY BIRTHDAY

AS PRINCE HARRY TURNS 36 — THE SAME AGE HIS MOTHER, PRINCESS DIANA, WAS WHEN SHE DIED 23 YEARS AGO — THE RUEFUL ROYAL IS FEELING HOMESICK FOR THE LIFE AND FAMILY HE LEFT BEHIND.

BY all appearances, Prince Harry was in a cheerful mood when he and his wife, Meghan Markle, made a surprise visit to the Preschool Learning Center in Los Angeles on Aug. 31, to help with the annual replanting of the school garden. Still, the occasion was bittersweet. The date marked the 23rd anniversary of the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a tragic car crash. Keeping the painful memory close to their hearts, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex honored the People’s Princess in their own way — by planting forget-me-nots, the delicate blue flowers that were Diana’s favorite.

Now with his Sept. 15 birthday fast approaching, the new dad is staring down a once unthinkable milestone: He’s turning 36 — the same age Diana was when she died in 1997. “As with everyone, birthdays are a time when Harry reflects on where he is in life, so this one is really hard for him,” an insider tells Star. Not only that, but this is his first birthday since he and Meghan stepped down from royal duties and moved abroad. “He’s left his friends and family behind,” says the insider. “He’s still struggling to make a new life in California. He’s feeling terribly lonely.”

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