Prince Harry calls ex-Royal Marine after injury halts triathlon attempt

Prince Harry spoke to Lee Spencer on a video call following the Triathlon of Great Britain, which he had to pull out of at the final phase due to injury

The Duke of Sussex video-called a single leg amputee ex-Royal Marine after he had to pull out of a triathlon due to injury.

Lee Spencer planned to swim the English Channel, cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats and climb the three highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales.

He raised more than £26,000 for the Royal Marines Charity for the attempt.

Prince Harry contacted the veteran to offer his support and admiration for what Mr Spencer had achieved.

He said: "You have basically cycled the whole of the UK and climbed two mountains, and after that, and only after that, did your stump start to give you a few issues to the point of where you had to pull out the very last phase of it, but you've put so much into this.

"I hope that you are really happy - I know you're not happy - but I hope that you feel really proud of yourself to have done what you've done. You might not have completed this one but you definitely achieved it in my mind."

'Try this again'

Mr Spencer, from Tavistock, Devon, became the first disabled person to row from mainland Europe to South America, breaking three world records and raising more than £90,000 for charity. He received the British Empire Medal in 2019 for his fundraising.

He said although he had to pull out at the final phase of the Triathlon of Great Britain, he was "almost certainty going to try this again".

"For me, it's always been about getting the message out… keeping wounded and injured servicemen and women in the nation's conscience," he said.

He added that the prince's words had "helped me to process that disappointment and start to see a lot of positives".