AS WE EXCLUSIVELY REVEAL HIS 40TH BIRTHDAY PLANS THE DUKE OF SUSSEX THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS ROYAL RETURN, RELATIONS WITH HIS FAMILY AND HIS DESIRE TO SPEND MORE TIME IN THE U.K.

As he celebrates his milestone 40th birthday, the Duke of Sussex has much to reflect on.

- EMILY NASH

In birthday plans exclusively revealed to HELLO!, Prince Harry will mark his big day on 15 September with a party for family and friends in Montecito, California, at the home he shares with his wife the Duchess and their children Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.

And the festivities are set to continue with a weekend getaway in the mountains, surrounded by a handful of his closest friends.

With a busy schedule of work and travel lined up between now and the end of the year, he has plenty more to look forward to.

As he enters his fifth decade, Harry is dividing his time between the work of the couple’s Archewell Foundation, his charities and patronages, and his young children.

There are family bike rides and hikes with dogs Guy, Mamma Mia and Pula, the school run and meals out with a small circle of new friends.

At 40, Harry finally has the freedom and independence for which he left his royal life behind.

Away from the institutional confines of monarchy, he can decide on the direction of his life and career for himself. “He has longer to work things out now,” an old friend tells hello!. “He and Meghan are not under any time pressure – it’s all on their own terms.”

ROCKY GROUND

But there remain challenges back in the UK that also take up his time and attention. Among them are his continuing legal battle with the Home Office over his security arrangements and his lawsuits against various tabloid media outlets.

Then there is his fractious relationship with his father the King and brother the Prince of Wales.

So recent claims that Harry was plotting a return to royal duties in the UK and seeking counsel from advisers involved in his former life raised eyebrows on both sides of the Atlantic.