Mark Dyer: Dubbed Prince Harry’s ‘second dad’, who is this royal mentor?

Prince Harry’s whistle-stop visit has got everyone talking about his tense relationship with the rest of the Royal Family. The Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan Markle have really become the punching bags of the institution following their exit from the Firm. They haven’t helped themselves, with a string of exposing interviews, podcasts and docu-series behind them that paints them as the victims in the story. That being said, the King’s recent diagnosis sparked hopes that the past would be left behind and pave the way for a brighter, friendlier future for the family.

Those who take an interest are hopeful that there is one man who could help to rebuild the relationship between Prince William and Prince Harry specifically. He has known both men, now aged 41 and 39 respectively, since they were young - and has acted as a mentor to them. Let’s take a look into who Mark Dyer is, and how he has this special bond with Prince Harry.

Mark ‘Marko’ Dyer

After Princess Diana’s tragic death, Prince William and Prince Harry found a ‘second dad’ in Dyer. According to The Telegraph, he ‘guided them through adolescence and beyond’:

Fierce but fair, he not only protected and nurtured them, he gained and maintained their trust.

Prince Harry’s visit home highlighted the troubles that he is facing within his own family: according to sources, he would have ‘gladly’ met with Prince William, but his brother had other plans. To make matters worse, Prince Harry only saw his father for a short half-an-hour visit, adding fuel to burning rumours that say reconciliation is no longer possible.

Some hope that Dyer, 56, could be the answer to their problems. He was previously an equerry to the King in the 1990s, and was charged with the task of providing fierce but fair pastoral care to Prince William and Harry. He would visit Prince William at boarding school in Eton and reportedly protected Prince Harry from the press when his love life drew media attention.

Prince Harry’s ‘second dad’

Dyer travelled with Prince Harry during his gap year, which saw them visit Australia, Argentina and Lesotho together. The royal biographer Penny Junor said that Dyer was one of the ‘few people who can talk some sense into him’. In Prince Harry: Brother, Soldier, Son she explained:

Mark Dyer had been invaluable; he had done a superb job in supporting and guiding both Princes through their adolescence and showing them something of the world.

The pair are obviously close: Prince Harry was an usher at Myer’s wedding in 2010, and when the Duke married Meghan Markle in 2018 Myer took on the same honour. Similarly, they are each godfathers to the other’s offspring; Prince Harry to Dyer’s son Jasper and Dyer to Prince Archie.

Even after the affectionately named ‘Megxit’ debacle and the ensuing dramas, Dyer has not been rejected by the rest of the royals for his closeness with Prince Harry. Although Dyer may not speak to Prince William directly, ‘it is understood he is something of a conduit through which Harry stays in touch with family members and friends in the UK’, wrote The Telegraph.

Who is Mark Dyer?

Dyer is a former Welsh Guards Officer, and after his stint working for the royals he went on to become a publican. In 2009, he established an ran a successful chain of pubs. According to the Daily Mail, these included ‘the Rolling Stones' favourite The Cross Keys and The Sand's End, in Fulham, where Harry is said to have conducted his secret courtship with Meghan’. After eight years in the business, he decided to sell and bagged over £10 million.

He is married to Texan heiress Amanda Kline, but previously had a brief romance with former royal nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke. Last year, Dyer had a brutal battle against stomach cancer which involved a 14-hour surgery and a six-week hospital stay. Thankfully, he is now cancer-free. In Harry’s controversial book Spare, Prince Harry wrote very fondly of Dyer:

Of all Pa’s people there was consensus that Marko was the best. The roughest, the toughest, the most dashing.

All of this may be true, but only time will tell whether he will be capable of building a bridge between the battling brothers.

Read more:

⋙ Prince Harry: Royal expert makes unfounded claim King Charles did not want him to come to the UK

⋙ King Charles diagnosed with cancer: There could be a hidden meaning behind the picture of the announcement

⋙ King Charles: Royal insider claims Queen Camilla knew about his diagnosis when she opened a cancer centre

Sources used:

The Telegraph: How Harry’s ‘second dad’ could glue the Royal family back together

DailyMail: Mark Dyer was a crucial 'second Dad' to Harry and confronted him over illegal drugs. Now the former royal equerry has won his battle with stomach cancer