Prince Harry tells of his excitement at turning 40 as his birthday celebrations get under way this weekend: ‘Bring on the next decade’

Prince Harry is set to be excited to start a new decade as he turns 40, with his birthday celebrations set to get underway this weekend.

The Duke of Sussex will mark the milestone on Sunday privately with his family, wife Meghan and their children Archie, five and Lilibet, three at their home in Montecito, California.

He is then thought to be planning a getaway for a weekend with his closest friends, Sky News reported.

In a statement to the BBC, the Prince showed an eagerness to start a new chapter and continue ‘doing good in the world’.

Prince Harry has indicated he is excited to ‘bring on the next decade’ ahead of his 40th birthday this weekend

Harry and Meghan are pictured last month in Bogota during a visit to the Colombian capital

The Duke met his wife Meghan two years after turning 30, and has since moved with her to California, leaving behind his time as a working royal

He said: ‘ Whatever the age, my mission is to continue showing up and doing good in the world.’

‘Bring on the next decade’, he added.

His message also paid tribute to his two ‘incredibly kind and funny’ children, adding they had ‘sharpened his focus in all my work’.

Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace are both yet to indicate whether they will do anything to mark Harry’s big birthday. 

For his lads’ weekend holiday, Harry is rumoured to have chosen a mountain retreat in California. 

Among A-list guests, some of whom may travel out from the UK, is likely to be Harry’s best friend Nacho Figueras.

Dubbed the ‘David Beckham of Polo’, Nacho is thought to enjoy luxuries including Champagne and whisky, and is one of the faces of designer label Ralph Lauren.

Friends jetting off from the UK could include actor Orlando Bloom and Coldplay singer Chris Martin.

The Duke’s last decade has seen him grow apart from his family, including his elder brother Prince William who organised his 30th birthday celebrations

Harry (pictured centre)  with his elder brother, his father Charles (now the King), at the Queen Mother’s 101st birthday celebrations

Prince Harry with his wife Meghan and Catherine, Princess of Wales in London

Later this month, Harry is set to head to New York to ‘advance a number of his patronages and philanthropic initiatives’, his team said.

His visit will coincide with the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week on September 23 to 27 and Climate Week between September 22 and 29. 

The Duke had said he had been ‘anxious’ to turn 30 in 2014, a year after returning from his second tour in Afghanistan. 

His 30th birthday came just months after breaking up with Cressida Bonas, before meeting Meghan Markle two years later.

It was marked with a black tie event thrown by his elder brother Prince William at Clarence House.

Since then he has moved with his wife to California, ending his time as a working royal.

The Duke of Sussex with best friend and Argentinian polo player Nacho Figueras in Miami. The ‘David Beckham of Polo’ is rumoured to be among guests to Harry’s lads’ weekend 

The couple’s rift with the royals widened after their Netflix series and Harry’s memoir Spare

Prince Harry in older times enjoying a trip away with his friends in Las Vegas in 2012

Harry’s relationship with his family worsened following his ‘tell all’ memoir Spare, released in January, in which he detailed his alleged mistreatment by other royals.

He claimed that the Prince of Wales, 42, branded Meghan ‘difficult’, ‘rude’ and ‘abrasive’, and even accused him of pushing him into a dog bowl. 

Tensions have also become frayed following several diary conflicts between the Sussexes and the Waleses.

The latest clash came on Monday, when a Netflix teaser for a documentary called Polo, produced by the Sussexes’ production company, was released just hours after the Princess of Wales shared a video marking the end of her chemotherapy treatment.

Harry last came to the UK for a service at St Paul’s Cathedral marking ten years of the Invictus Games, the sports event he helped to launch for injured soldiers.

He notably didn’t visit the King during his visit to the capital, although he previously returned to the UK in February to see Charles after he revealed he had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer.