Today is Prince Harry’s 25th birthday! Not only does this make him one year cuter and one year more ginger (and one more year closer to the Windsor genes kicking in), but this is the birthday in which the first part of Prince Harry’s fortune kicks in. After Princess Diana died, her will left her monetary assets to her two underage sons, William and Harry. The exact total of the money split between the two princes was around $20-25 million. Most reports today indicate that the princes’ trust were set up as equals, but I’ve heard other reports over the years that suggested that Harry would get a larger share of his mother’s assets – because he wasn’t going to be king. Alas, the way the trusts were established means that Harry can’t blow all of his millions on his on-again girlfriend Chelsy Davy. He can only blow hundreds of thousands on her per year, until he turns 30.

Britain’s Prince Harry turned 25 Tuesday in the knowledge that he is now entitled to part of the multi-million dollar inheritance left to him by his late mother.

Harry was just 12 years old when Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

His mother left an estate worth £21 million ($35 million), but more than £8 million ($13.31 million) was paid in inheritance tax, leaving around £13 million ($21.6 million) to be shared between Harry and his brother William, who is second in line to the throne, the British Press Association reported.

Much of that money is thought to have been invested but it is not known if the economic downturn has affected the amount.

Both princes are prevented from spending the lump sum of their inheritance until they turn 30. But Harry will pocket all income generated by his portion of the estate — around £300,000 ($500,000) a year.

Prince Harry joined the British Army in 2006 and served in Afghanistan for more than two months from the end of 2007 to early 2008, before being withdrawn after news of his secret deployment leaked out to the media.

There had been fears that Harry, who is third in line to the throne, could become a target for Taliban militants.

According to British media reports, the prince’s deployment was subject to a news blackout deal struck between the Ministry of Defence and newspapers and broadcasters in the UK and abroad.

He received a promotion to the rank of lieutenant in April last year and is now training to become a helicopter pilot with the British Army’s Air Corps.

The young royal has also created a few negative headlines, particularly in Britain’s tabloid press, in recent years. In February this year, he was formally disciplined by his Army superiors after videos surfaced showing him using offensive language — referring to a fellow soldier as a “Paki” and another as looking “like a raghead.”

A spokesman for the prince told CNN: “Prince Harry has apologized for his comments and has been subjected to normal Army disciplinary procedures. The matter is now closed.”

In a well-publicized gaffe in 2005, Harry apologized after he was photographed wearing a Nazi uniform at a party.

“It was a very stupid thing to do and I’ve learned my lesson, simple as that really,” he said in an interview marking his 21st birthday. “I’d like to put it in the past now. What’s done is done. I regret it.”

[From CNN]

I’ve also heard some rumblings that after Diana’s death, the Queen “matched funds” in the trusts, effectively doubling the princes’ inheritance. So William and Harry could conceivably be coming into $30 million each, something like that. Sigh. Harry also has no plans to leave the military – so that means he’s probably going to be picking up the tab at more than a few drunken nights with enlisted men.

Sigh. I wish Harry wanted me and not Chelsy. I love a Ginger Prince. And Virgo men. Happy Birthday, Prince Harry!

Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy are shown outside of Raffles nightclub in London last night, 9/13/09. Credit: WENN.com