Harry makes pointed remark about 'hanging up uniform' and drops F-bomb

30 August 2023 , 11:35

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Harry makes pointed remark about 'hanging up uniform' and drops F-bomb

Prince Harry makes a pointed comment about "hanging up" military uniform before giving advice to former service personnel in his new Netflix documentary.

Today, his eagerly awaited docuseries, Heart Of Invictus - which follows a group of athletes on their road to the Paralympic-style sporting competition the Invictus Games that Harry set up in 2014 for injured and sick military personnel and veterans - dropped on the streaming platform.

The series documents the preparations that go into the Games by both organisers and athletes alike and in the third episode, Harry can be seen on a video call with the UK Invictus team - where he appears to make the dig about military uniform.

Prince Harry during his new Netflix documentary Heart of Invictus

Encouraging them ahead of the competition last year, he tells them: "You did it every day, wearing uniform and for one reason or another that uniform had to be hung up. That service that runs in your blood, our blood, never leaves the body. It is there."

The comment comes after Harry was banned from wearing military uniform after he and Meghan Markle quit their royal roles and Harry was forced to give up his military affiliations. At King Charles' Coronation earlier this year, he wore a morning suit.

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He also wore a suit for his beloved grandmother the late Queen's funeral last year - despite calls for him to be allowed to wear military dress. However, one exception was made when Harry wore uniform during a vigil around his grandmother's coffin in Westminster Hall.

Harry at a vigil for the late Queen last year (Getty Images)

He was allowed to wear military uniform (Getty Images)

However, it was later claimed Harry was "devastated" at having to remove the 'ER' symbol from the uniform even though Prince William was allowed to keep his. After the initials were not removed from William, a pal told The Sunday Times: "He [Harry] is heartbroken. To remove his grandmother's initials feels very intentional." Reports suggested Harry nearly decided to wear the morning suit anyway to avoid "humiliation".

Meanwhile, on the same call, Harry could be heard dropping the F-bomb as he offered his advice to the competitors. He said: "So when you're out there kicking a**, trying to win a medal, or just having fun, making your family incredibly proud, when you feel that feeling in your throat and you feel like you might want to cry, then just f***ing cry. I mean that."

Elsewhere in the series Harry admitted "no one around me could really help", he had no support network after he returned from war in Afghanistan and it triggered the trauma of losing his mother Princess Diana - in another apparent sly dig at the Royal Family.

Harry served in Afghanistan twice (Getty Images)

In the second of five episodes, several of the former service personnel talk about the mental toll of war with Harry also being asked about how his tours of Afghanistan affected him. And he says he "didn't have that support structure, that network or that expert advice to identify actually what was going on with me" after admitting he was angry when he returned from a tour of duty.

In what appears to be yet another swipe at his royal relatives, Harry says: "Look, I can only speak for my personal experience, my tour of Afghanistan in 2012 flying Apaches, somewhere after that there was an unravelling and the trigger for me was actually returning from Afghanistan.

"But the stuff that was coming up was from 1997, from the age of 12, losing my mum at such a young age, the trauma that I had I was never really aware of, it was never discussed, I didn't really talk about it - and I suppressed it like most youngsters would have done but when it all came fizzing out I was bouncing off the walls, I was like what is going on here, I am now feeling everything as opposed to being numb.

Harry and wife Meghan at the Invictus Games last year (WireImage)

"The biggest struggle for me is no-one around me could really help, I didn't have that support structure that network or that expert advice to identify what was actually going on with me. Unfortunately, like most of us the first time you really consider therapy is when you are lying on the floor in the foetal position probably wishing you had dealt with some of this stuff previously and that's what I really want to change."

Royal and sporting fans alike have waited more than two years for Harry's latest Netflix offering, which takes viewers behind-the-scenes at his Invictus Games. The show was first announced back in April 2021 but has faced numerous delays. The series follows six people competing at the 2022 games, telling their inspiring stories and their incredible commitment to their sports.

Harry founded the Games back in 2014 as a place for those injured in the armed forced to compete. Speaking about what they've achieved during the 2018 event - which he used to officially confirm his relationship with Meghan - he said: "Over the last four years though, the Invictus Games have become about much more than the thousands of competitors who have taken part. Invictus has become about the example of service and dedication our competitors have provided to the world.

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"Our Invictus family has turned these games into a symbol of strength, honour and optimism for a new generation."

The event has grown drastically over the years, and is now attended by celebrities and world leaders. The documentary comes just a few weeks before the 2023 Games, which will take place in Germany. Both Meghan and Harry will be in Europe to attend. Although they're yet to confirm what they will do, it's understood they will both be at the closing ceremony. It's also expected that they will take to the stands a number of times to cheer on the competitors.

Zoe Forsey