Harry was a childhood friend of Peter Parker and was there for him, when his parents died. When Harry was 11, his father shipped him off to a boarding school. For his 16th birthday, his father sent him a bottle of scotch (though, it was obvious that it had in fact been sent, by an Oscorp employee). Events like these, cause Harry to resent Norman. At one point, Harry had a fling with a French supermodel. He also began to experience symtoms of his father's illness.