The Duke of Sussex made a surprise visit to Ukraine, declaring he would “always be part of the royal family” and was “doing the very thing that I was born to do” in the war-torn nation.
His comments followed an impassioned address at the Kyiv Security Forum on Thursday, where he urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop this war” and called for “American leadership” to uphold its commitments in the conflict.
The Duke, who completed two frontline tours in Afghanistan, emphasised he was “not here as a politician” but as “a soldier who understands service” and a “humanitarian”. This stance notably echoed remarks made by his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, during her 1997 visit to Angola.
In Ukraine on Friday, Harry told ITV News he does not recognise the description of himself as “not a working royal”.
He said: “I will always be part of the royal family and I’m here working and doing the very thing that I was born to do, and I enjoy doing it.
“I enjoy being able to do these trips and come and support the people that I’ve met before, the friends that I’ve made, and hopefully bringing attention to issues that for one reason or another drop out of the news because something else has popped up.”
Harry’s trip comes just days before his father the King begins a major state visit to America to see President Donald Trump, against the backdrop of transatlantic tensions over the Iran conflict.
Britain’s Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, walks in a forest as he visits members of the HALO Trust (Hazardous Area Life-support Organization), a non-commercial charity organisation for demining (Reuters)
Asked if he believes any of the comments he has made during his time in Ukraine will impact the state visit, he said: “Not at all.”
The duke also referred to his mother’s trip to Angola in 1997 to campaign against landmines.
During her visit, Diana said: “I am not a political figure. I am a humanitarian figure and always have been and always will be.”
Diana visited a minefield in Angola in 1997 (John Stillwell/PA)
On Friday, Harry told ITV News: “It’s very, very sad because nearly 30 years ago since my mother was in Angola here we are again in a new conflict.”
It was a rare input on global matters from the duke when he implored the US to “honour its international treaty obligations” in its “enduring role in global security” during his speech in Kyiv.
Responding, Mr Trump said: “I know one thing, Prince Harry is not speaking for the UK, that’s for sure. I think I am speaking for the UK more than Prince Harry.
“But I appreciate his advice very much.”
But Harry has said people need to “speak up”.
He told ITV News: “As a global community we need to feel empowered to be able to speak truth to power. It’s really that simple.
“It’s bad enough in today’s world feeling gagged and saying that you can’t say these things and can’t say that and everything becomes political. I fundamentally disagree with that.
“What we are witnessing and what we are seeing is a humanitarian catastrophe in multiple parts of the world and people are speaking up and people will continue to speak up and I would encourage more people to do the speaking up.”
Harry’s unannounced visit – his third trip to Ukraine since the war began in 2022 – comes days after he finished a tour to Australia with his wife, the Duchess of Sussex.
He stopped in the UK on his journey to Ukraine, but only to transit through and he did not leave airside.