Prince Harry spoke of his mother’s inspiration to him and his charity work this week, as he trekked with Walking with the Wounded.
Speaking to Victoria Murphy of the Daily Mirror, the former Army Captain spoke about hisbehind the scenes work with the Mnistry of Defence’s London Personnel Recovery Unit. He regularly meets wounded servicemen and women at Headley Court, without the press.
“It’s equally important, if not more so, to do the stuff behind the scenes.
“It’s something that our mother did a lot of and that’s the time that you really get to learn, you get the experiences and you actually get the honest truth out of people.”
Having spent the summer in Africa, Harry was very much under the radar, with just a few images released of his work with conservation groups including an armed team protecting animals from poachers.
The Prince thinks it important to carry out this low-key work, to find out what’s really going on:
“The Personnel Recovery Unit – wow – the kind of conversations I have and the experiences I’m getting and all the knowledge from these guys – it’s second to none.
“It’s so crucial to be able to go down to Headley Court and strike up a relationship with these individuals that I can go back and forward to visit.
“If you want to learn the truth from people – like when I was in Africa for three months in the summer – sometimes you just have to go behind the scenes.”
The 31-year-old’s work will focus on veterans now Harry has left the army. Last night, the Pride of Britian awards were aired, and Walking with the Wounded won an award.
“It really does showcase the best of British,” said Harry.
“It makes me really proud they’ve won the award and it’s great for them to get that recognition they deserve.
“Walking With The Wounded have raised more than £10million which is great, it shows the level of support that’s out there.
“One of the main reasons we’re doing this is that Afghan is finished and we want to make sure these guys get the right support.”
The next Invictus Games will be hosted in Florida, another of the Prince’s initiatives, which received £1million of funding from the Royal Foundation, a charity established by Prince Harry and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.