Harry launches Walking With The Wounded
Prince Harry revealed plans for an expedition which will see injured troops trek to the North Pole.
A team of ex-servicemen who lost limbs in action will take part in Walking With The Wounded and hope to make a new record - becoming the first amputees to reach the destination. The adventurers and support crew will set off on the trek next year.
Launching the initiative, Harry said: "You will be glad to know that if my military commitments allow me I would love to join the team.''
Listen to Harry speaking at the launch
Look at the pictures from the launch
Harry, 25, is patron of the expedition campaign, which was set up this year to help rehabilitate injured service personnel back into employment.
Money raised will be donated to charities and organisations to fund qualifications, courses and further education for people trying to rebuild their lives.
During the four-week trek, which is being supported by Smooth Radio's parent company GMG Radio, the amputees will cover up to 300 miles (483km) across the frozen Arctic Ocean, taking the Siberian approach.
Accompanied by expert guides including Henry Cookson and Inge Solheim, the former troops will navigate their way through hazards and tough terrain. Each participant will pull weights in excess of 243lb (110kg) in sleds while enduring temperatures from minus 15C (5F) to minus 50C (minus 58F) and facing the risk of running into polar bears.
Harry will meet people involved in the expedition and find out what challenges they will face at a launch event at The Rifles Club in west London.
Brigadier Ed Butler, who is involved in the project, said rehabilitation of wounded service men and women is a huge task, adding: "It is down to the tenacity and courage of teams like Walking With The Wounded that funds and interest in this issue can be raised.''
Harry, who served in Afghanistan for 10 weeks in 2007/08, has been training to become a pilot with the Army Air Corps for more than a year.
He will learn within weeks if he has been selected to fly Lynx helicopters, which he has described as the most likely way he can return to the front line, it was revealed yesterday.
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