Prince Harry's military days: Duke makes emotional confession years later

Prince Harry has made an emotional confession while addressing NATO's military committee in Brussels via video link in his role as founder of the Invictus Games.

The Duke of Sussex, who spent a decade in the forces, shared that he lost part of his "purpose and identity" when he "hung up" his uniform after leaving the British Army.

In his address, former soldier Harry added he was "fortunate” and "had another way to serve".

Harry, who stepped down as a working royal in 2020, founded Invictus Games in 2014 to help wounded, injured and sick former and current service personnel.

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Prince Harry says he 'lost' his 'identity' after military

He warned military leaders about those who leave the forces, noting, "We must think just as seriously about what happens to them after they have served – particularly when they return wounded, injured or sick. I know something about that transition."

"When I hung up my uniform, I felt as though I had lost not simply a profession, but part of my purpose and identity. I was fortunate. I had another way to serve."

Prince Harry's time in the military

Harry served in the British Army from 2005 to 2015, rising to the rank of Captain and completing two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

Having passed the Regular Commissions Board (RCB), the qualification necessary to train at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in September 2004, Harry went on to complete 44 weeks of Officer Cadet training.

In 2006, he officially joined the Blues and Royals.

The following year, the prince was told he would not be allowed to deploy to Iraq for security reasons.

Instead he served two tours in Afghanistan. For his first tour, he served for 10 weeks in Helmand Province as a Forward Air Controller coordinating airstrikes against Taliban positions.

However, that tour ended early after reports in international media of his whereabouts.

During his second tour (2012-2013), Harry returned for a 20-week deployment with the Army Air Corps operating out of Camp Bastion as an Apache helicopter co-pilot and gunner.

Before leaving operational service, he spent four weeks in April and May 2015 working with the Australian Defence Force, attached to different units.

In his bombshell memoir titled Spare, the Prince said that his time in the Army gave him a purpose "greater than himself".

Prince Harry's uniform controversy

Harry was not allowed to wear his military uniform at his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in 2022 because he is a non-working royal.

When Harry and his wife Meghan Markle's move to the US became permanent in 2021, the late Queen stripped a devastated Harry of his military titles and royal patronages, and the Sussexes declared they would always live "a life of service".

The Sussexes returned to the UK in August with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, six years after they left the royal life behind.