Prince Harry has transformed in three big ways since he left official royal duties behind him, a former aide to Queen Elizabeth II has said.
Ailsa Anderson, the late Queen’s former press secretary, says the Duke of Sussex was once a “media darling” and a prince who could seemingly do no wrong.
During a Times Radio interview, she said: “The Harry that I knew – and I left and obviously that was before he got married, so 2013 – but he was the media’s darling.
“I remember at the start he could not put a foot wrong, he was just this war hero, he’d served, he was committed, he had the Invictus Games He really couldn’t put a step wrong.”
The late Queen’s former aide said Harry was “charming, funny, interesting” away from the public eye, and said she was sad that those traits now seemed lost in the Duke.
These statements by Ms Anderson follow hot on the heels of a stirring address from Prince Harry as he honoured Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks, whom he calls a “friend” and a “beacon of inspiration”, in a new video.
After joining the US Army aged 17 in 2008, Sergeant Banks went on to sustain injuries to both hips during her Iraq deployment two years later.
Now 33, she boasts an impressive record of four gold medals at the Invictus Games and five Paralympic medals under her belt.
Harry, speaking from his Montecito residence, recalled: “I first met Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks at the Invictus Games in Orlando 2016, where I presented her with not one, but four gold medals that she’d won in swimming. To me, she epitomises the courage, resilience and determination represented across our service community. And this is not just because of her swimming abilities.”
He added: “Ellie has courageously overcome every obstacle to cross her path. She has turned her pain into purpose and led through compassion and willpower, showing others that the impossible is indeed possible.
“Despite the injuries she endured during her deployment as a medical assistant in Iraq along with numerous surgeries and setbacks that would have deterred many she has persevered tirelessly, becoming the first woman in the Army’s world-class athlete program as well as the first swimmer the program had ever seen.”
“She’s also taken her recovery a step further, using her experiences and achievements to inspire and assist others in their mental and physical journey into sport, ensuring those who can’t see a way out or through are introduced to the medicine of sport that saved her too.”
