He might be a worldwide megastar, but ’ mum reckons he’s ‘just like any other son’.
was born to , 55, and Des Styles, 65, in Redditch in 1994.
Harry also has an older sister, 32-year-old Gemma Styles, and while their parents are no longer together, his family is still extremely close, with Anne lifting the lid on the superstar’s home life in a rare interview.
Reflecting on her Grammy-winning son’s global fame, she began: ‘He said, “Mums don’t always know,” but I always thought he had something.’
In conversation with , Anne admitted she doesn’t make too much of a fuss about her son’s celebrity status, despite, of course, being full of pride for his achievements.
‘He’s just the same as he has always been,’ she said. ‘As a very little boy, he was very much like he is now, just a smaller version.’
Anne is also equally proud of both of her children, whether it’s Harry and or Gemma fronting a podcast and speaking about mental health with her nine million Instagram followers.
She added: ‘I’m very proud of both Harry and his older sister Gemma and the adults they’ve become.
‘They’re both really hard-working, they’ve got good morals and they’re really kind people.
‘I know it sounds like a dreadful cliché but as long as they’re happy, that’s the most important thing.’
As for her bond with her grown-up kids, Anne assured they’re all ‘close’ and it’s merely ‘geography’ keeping them apart, what with Harry for various sold-out shows every other week.
‘We all see each other when we can.’
When he is at home in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, Anne said Harry will walk in and ‘open the fridge’ immediately, just like any other son.
The former pub landlady – who was married to Harry’s stepdad Robin Twist in 2013, – went on to say Harry ‘always had a big smile’ on his face growing up, and was more extroverted than his sister.
And after encouraging him to audition for The X Factor in 2010, she had no idea how huge he would become, as he took over the world with bandmates Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik.
‘It was all such a new experience and I just went along with it,’ she added. ‘I always felt like I was just there until it stopped and then I would be there to pick up the pieces – that just didn’t happen.’
On the key to Harry’s success, particularly with his solo music, she reckons it’s because he’s ‘authentic to himself’ and ‘takes influences from what he feels, what he’s listened to, what he likes.’
‘He’s not thinking, “Right, I need to make this song for this particular demographic.” He does what feels right to him – and it seems to be universally appreciated.’
However, in a sweet anecdote, Anne remembered Harry’s grandad actually falling asleep during one of his concerts,
‘How you manage to do that with that noise, I’ve no idea,’ she smiled, fondly remembering her dad, Brian Selley.
She added that there were similarities between him and Harry, such as his sense of humour, with Anne now passionate about raising awareness of Parkinson’s in his memory after witnessing the ‘distressing’ ways in which the disease affected him.
One thing’s for sure, though, and it’s that she feels very lucky to have built the family unit she has, admitting to have won the lottery of motherhood.
‘I’ve not done badly at all.’
