Harry, still sporting the ginger beard he grew during his three-month conservation trip in Africa, warmly mingled with WWII veterans at an event to mark the historic Battle of Britain during a soggy day in England.
Although mechanical problems prevented Harry from taking flight in one of the vintage Spitfire fighter – as he gleefully did last year – he was serenaded by school kids singing "Happy Birthday."
The display of more than 30 planes, which took place 70 miles south of London, was billed as the biggest flypast since the WWII battle that made history 75 years ago. Led by 95-year-old Tom Neil, an ex-wing commander and Battle of Britain pilot, the event was a tribute to the courageous men known as "The Few" – the fighters who bravely defended the British skies during the summer and autumn of 1940.
It was a poignant day for two contemporary service members as well. Former parachute regiment private Nathan Forster, who suffered severe damage to his left leg in an IED blast in Afghanistan in 2011, and Corporal Alan Robinson, an RAF technician who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident, have been taught to fly in the same way as a WWII pilot in a scholarship supported by Prince Harry's Endeavour Fund.
The Spitfire Scholarship is inspired by heroic pilot Douglas Bader, who flew throughout WWII with 20 individual aerial victories despite losing both his legs in 1931. Harry launched the fund with a flight in a Spitfire, also at Goodwood in summer 2014. Veterans' causes are close to Harry's heart, including the Invictus Games he is bringing to Orlando, Florida, next May.
Before then, he'll be promoting another of his passions by appearing at the Rugby World Cup on September 18.
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