Prince Harry Picks 'Second Father' Mark Dyer As Baby's Godfather
Feb. 8 2019, Updated 12:50 p.m. ET
Prince Harry will make the “second father” appointed to comfort him in in the wake of his mother Princess Diana’s death one of the godfathers of his first child, RadarOnline.com can report.
The dad-to-be is said to have told Mark "Marko" Dyer last week he will be given the honor as “a tribute and repayment” for guiding him through some of the harshest times of his life, including controversy over the prince’s admission he smoked weed as a teen.
Burly former Welsh Guards officer Dyer, 52 – who owns one of Harry’s favorite pubs in London – is in contrast to the godparents Harry’s celebrity wife Meghan has lined up.
Dyer has been a confidante of Harry’s since he was appointed his “equerry” – or “surrogate father” – when the redhead royal was reeling from the 1997 Paris car crash death of his mother Diana.
It was Harry’s dad Prince Charles who appointed Dyer to the post, and he went on to become a male counterpart to former royal nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke.
Charles recruited Dyer as he was committed to a five-day visit to Africa in the first of the boys’ school holidays since their mother’s death.
He took Harry and Dyer with him – with the former soldier looking after his son while Charles carried out royal engagements.
From then on, he became a mentor to Harry, guiding him through the toughest times of his life.
It was Dyer who escorted Harry to a day at a recovery center for drug addicts in London after the prince admitted to smoking marijuana when he was a teenager.
And he helped Harry’s romance with ex-girlfriends Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas run smoothly, while also advising him on army life during his tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Dyer was also a driving force behind Harry setting up his Sentebale charity, which helps HIV-afflicted orphans in Lesotho and Botswana.
Our source told RadarOnline.com: “Harry was an usher at Mark’s wedding to his wife Amanda Kline in 2010, and now he wants to do something official for his lifelong mentor to recognize the support he’s given him throughout his life.”
Royal writer Penny Junor said about Dyer, who attended Prince William’s 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton: “He’s been invaluable; he had done a superb job in supporting and guiding both princes through their adolescence and showing them something of the world – and also introducing them to Africa.
“He's a very straightforward, hard-living adventurer and a great soldier. He was also somebody the Princes could relate to at that age, and they remembered him from their childhood when he’d shown them guns and tanks and things and taken them rock climbing.”
Since 2009, Dyer has run MDM Bars and Pubs and owns two of Harry’s favorite bars – The Sand’s End and The Brown Cow in southwest London.
Insiders said Harry loves the spots as he is “ensured privacy” when he drops in.
Royal Family members traditionally have several godparents. Prince William’s son Prince Louis having six godparents, while his daughter Charlotte has five, and Prince George has seven.
Along with Dyer, pregnant Duchess of Sussex Meghan is said to want to add at least six godparents to the list.
But she is set to stun palace flunkies with her showbiz-oriented choices – as they fear it will mark the beginning of turning the royal family into a “celebrity circus.”
Insiders said George Clooney and his wife Amal are top of her list, along with her make-up artist Daniel Martin and tennis champion pal Serena Williams.
We pay for juicy info! Do you have a story for RadarOnline.com? Email us at tips@radaronline.com, or call us at (866) ON-RADAR (667-2327) any time, day or night.
Get the exclusive celebrity scoop on all the stars you love before any of your friends by subscribing to our new podcast Straight Shuter below!
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
