Prince Harry (Sans Cressida Bonas) Visits Wounded Ex-Servicemen at Charity Event

Redheaded royal congratulated the men and was given a tour of the town's Row and River Museum

By Alyssa Toomey Mar 10, 2014 9:28 PMTags
Prince HarryLefteris Pitarakis/WPA Pool/Getty Images

Prince Harry completed a 208-mile trek to the South Pole in December, traveling with a team of injured English servicemen and women, and now he's continuing his do-gooding efforts, visiting a crew of wounded ex-servicemen who successfully rowed across the Atlantic.

The redheaded royal met with the four-man team during a visit to Oxfordshire, according to BBC. The servicemen completed the 3,000-mile journey in December with the support of the charity Row2Recovery. 

According to reports, Harry congratulated the men and was given a tour of the town's Row and River Museum. He also was given an indoor rowing demonstration and is said to be spearheading an effort to get more service personal to participate in the sport.

"Today has been a great success," Paddy Nicoll, chairman of the River and Rowing Museum Trustees, said. "It has been a real privilege having the prince here for Henley, the museum and the charity. He was most interested in how wounded military personnel were integrating into the Row2Recovery programme."

Former military medic Rory Mackenzie, who rowed across the Atlantic with Row2Recovery in 2011, added that Harry's visit put "the seal of approval on what we are trying to achieve."

The 29-year-old royal, who has made working with wounded soldiers one of his main initiatives, has also forged a partnership between Row2Recovery and The Endeavor Fund, which was founded by himself and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The Endeavour Fund, which assists wounded ex-servicemen and women as they explore new physical challenges as part of their recovery, is supporting a Row2Recovery domestic rowing program to encourage more injured personal to compete in the sport.

Harry was most recently seen attending a rugby game with girlfriend Cressida Bonas.

Prior to their rare public appearance, the two made waves when they attended their first official royal engagement together at the inaugural U.K. event benefitting Free the Children, an international charity working to engage and empower young people to work together towards ending poverty. 

The attractive prince gave a speech to 12,000 students and admitted to being "incredibly nervous" to address his young audience, then quipped, "If you were expecting Harry Styles, I apologize. And no, I'm not going to sing."