Long before he married Meghan Markle and made a new life for himself away from royal life, Prince Harry spent a “gap year” in the Australian outback, where he said he had the “best weeks of (his) life”.
A tranche of cabinet documents and photos, released from the National Archives of Australia on Monday, include a photo of a then 19-year-old prince with Governor General Michael Jeffery and his wife Marlena, near the end of his time in the former colony.
Having just graduated from Eton, the Duke of Sussex spent three months living on Tooloombilla Station in central Queensland before he returned home to join the British Army.
The 16,000 hectare cattle property, 150km northwest of Roma, was owned by friends of the Prince’s late mother Diana.
In his memoir “Spare” published last year, Prince Harry revealed that after being confronted by his father, he confessed to “experimenting” with marijuana on several occasions.
The book revealed then-Prince Charles had suggested his youngest son take a gap year in favour of university as a result.
“My family believed hard labour is the answer to everything,” he wrote.
“This wasn’t merely work. Being a jackaroo required stamina, but it also demanded a certain artistry.
“You had to be a whisperer to animals. You had to be a reader of the skies, and the land. You also had to possess a superior level of horsemanship”.
He said in the memoir he had been treated like everybody else while on the property.
He had initially planned to spend six months in Australia, but cut the trip short after paparazzi began camping out at the property about nine weeks into his stay.
“Paps were like ants. There was never just one,” he writes. “The police were pleased with themselves. But I was glum. I knew what was sure enough, the very next day, two more crept onto the farm. Time to go.”
“I thanked the Hill family for nine of the best weeks of my life and flew home, arriving just before Christmas.”
In addition to the months in remote Queensland, he visited Sydney to watch the Rugby World Cup and visit Taronga Zoo.