In a bid to prove that he’s more than just a bumbling, naked pool-playing, Nazi-costume wearing walking faux pas, Prince Harry will be embarking on a month-long trek to the South Pole as part of the Walking With the Wounded challenge. The physically-daunting challenge will involve the Prince trekking in a group with four British amputees, who will be racing against teams from the US, Canada and Australia. At the launch event, he joked “As a member of the British team I will have a brew ready for you when you join us at the South Pole.”

The 28 year-old will set off in November and will trek across 208 miles of polar terrain, pulling a sled weighing 70kg, The Telegraph reports. Temperatures are expected to plummet to -45 degrees. The Prince paid tribute to the wounded people with whom he will be trekking, particularly their “courage, physical strength, endurance and sense of comradeship.” He added “There is something else, something deeper than that, which continues to draw me back to this charity. It is a toughness of mind, an unquenchable spirit that refuses to say ‘I am beaten’.”

He will be joined by Duncan Slater, 34, a former RAF sergeant from Diss in Norfolk, who has had both legs amputated below the knee, when an IED exploded when he was on duty in Afghanistan. He said “When I was blown up I was told by my doctor that I would never walk or run without pain again. I was determined to prove otherwise. I want to show others that amputees can do anything…to have the opportunity to help a charity that is willing to do so much is beyond words. 

Prince Harry
Prince Harry at the launch of the Walking with the Wounded challenge