PRINCE Harry told a former Sandhurst instructor she used to shout at him “so much” on a cheerful video call ahead of the Invictus Games.
The royal joined a surprise Zoom chat with competitors before the contest takes place in the Netherlands later this month.
One of those on the call was former physical training corps instructor Vic Wales, who was on staff when Harry was a cadet.
He asked: “Is my PTI from Sandhurst in here somewhere?”
After spotting her, he said: “There she is! I can’t believe after – how many years? 15 years? – our paths are about to cross again.
“You used to shout at me so much.”
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The athlete joked that the Duke of Sussex needed the stern words – and he replied: “I needed it.
“Yeah, cool. That’s fair enough.”
Ms Wales, 44, from Newcastle, is taking part in five events – rowing, cycling, archery, powerlifting and athletics.
She broke her back in a training accident 11 years ago and was medically discharged from the forces.
Harry also gave an emotional team talk to the competitors.
“For a lot of you, you’ve already, as far as I’m concerned, you’ve already won gold by just getting to this point,” he said.
“The fact that you are sitting there now wearing that strip and you are able to wear the Union Jack on your arm again, that means so much to every single one of you.”
Team UK captain Rachel Williamson, a 33-year-old RAF veteran from Rutland, Leicestershire, told the royal: “It’s been a very long journey to get here, but what an amazing team to do it with.”
She said afterwards: “The call was such a surprise but it was amazing to see Prince Harry again. I absolutely loved it, it was like speaking to another member of the Invictus family.”
And she said the duke “just says the right stuff.”
“The main thing he said was, ‘Yes, you lost your uniform but now you get to wear this brand new uniform again’ and that hits all of us so deep,” she said.
The duke founded the games to aid the rehabilitation of injured or sick military personnel and veterans from around the world.
The next competition will take place at The Hague between April 16 and 22.
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The Queen’s birthday is April 21. It’s not yet known if Harry plans to fly from the Netherlands to the UK to celebrate with his grandmother, although his spokesman said on March 11 he hopes to visit soon.
Harry is due to attend after missing Prince Philip’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey last month in a row over his police protection.
