Prince Harry running out of interview during Afghanistan tour explained
Harry served in Afghanistan twicePrince Harry running out of an interview during his tour in Afghanistan went viral back in 2013. But what actually happened?
The clip has gone viral over the last few years and was even uploaded to Meghan Markle’s Instagram on Tuesday as she marked Veterans Day with a tribute to her husband.
But what’s the true story behind Harry’s TV moment?
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Prince Harry runs out of interview during Afghanistan tour
Back in 2013, Prince Harry sat down for an interview with ITV News whilst deployed on active duty to Afghanistan.
The prince initially served in Afghanistan for 10 weeks between 2007 and 2008. However, his time there was cut short after his location was reportedly leaked in the news.
The Duke of Sussex was deployed to the country again between 2012 and 2013, before leaving the army in 2015.
During his second tour, Harry spent 20 weeks with the Army Air Corps as a co-pilot and gunner for an Apache helicopter.
It was during his second time serving in Afghanistan that the now-famous interview took place.
Harry was speaking to a TV crew at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, when an alarm went off due to an apparent urgent mission.
The duke seemed unaware that something was happening for a couple of seconds as fellow soldiers sprinted to their helicopters.
Prince Harry’s famous Afghanistan interview
Someone off camera then says something to Harry, which leads to him leaping to his feet, taking his microphone off, and legging it after his fellow soldiers.
The camera then watched as Harry rushed out of sight to his helicopter.
12 years after the iconic moment, Meghan shared it on her Instagram to mark Veterans Day in the US.
“As my husband says, ‘Once served. Always serving,'” she captioned the post.
“Thank you to all who served, sacrificed, and continue to serve. Honoring you on Veterans Day. And every day.”
Prince Harry on being in the army
Harry has spoken many times about his time spent in the army over the years.
“Anyone who says they don’t enjoy the Army is mad – you can spend a week hating it and the next week it could be the best thing in the world and the best job you could ever, ever wish for. It has got so much to offer,” he said in a past interview.
“For me personally, as I said, I want to serve my country,” he added.
He also wrote about it extensively in his book, Spare, which was released in 2023.
Spare proved controversial at the time, as Harry opened up about having to kill during his time in the military.
Harry wrote that “in the era of Apaches and laptops” it was possible to establish “with exactness how many enemy combatants I had killed”. He wrote: “And it seemed to me essential not to be afraid of that number. So my number is 25. It’s not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me.”
He also admitted that he had dehumanised those he had shot in battle.
As reported by the BBC, he said: “When I was plunged into the heat and confusion of battle, I didn’t think about those as 25 people. You can’t kill people if you see them as people.
“In truth, you can’t hurt people if you see them as people. They were chess pieces taken off the board, bad guys eliminated before they kill good guys.
“They trained me to ‘other’ them and they trained me well.”
Read more: Prince Harry’s sad confession about ‘tainted’ relationship with Caroline Flack
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