Harry rejoins Arctic trekkers as travel plans are put on ice

The Prince will rejoin the team of wounded serviceman who are trying to reach the North Pole while he waits for a crack in ice on the temporary runway on the Borneo Ice Field to be fixed.

The third in line to the throne was travelling home to fulfil military commitments. He is soon to begin the final phase of his Apache helicopter training.

A spokesman for the 26-year-old Prince said: “Prince Harry was due to leave the Arctic today but owing to damage to the runway at Ice Camp Borneo his departure has been delayed.

“He will now spend an extra day trekking with the team and return to Borneo tonight to await the first available flight.”

Harry is expected to be back just in time for his military training.

The servicemen undertaking the trek are aiming to raise £2m for the Walking With The Wounded charity.

Harry has endured temperatures as cold as -45C after he joined the 200-mile trek.

He even did a running jump into sub zero Arctic water as part of his preparations while kitted out in an immersion suit

The wounded soldiers were injured while fighting in Afghanistan.

Captain Martin Hewitt, 30, from Cheshire, was left with a paralysed right arm after being shot and Captain Guy Disney, 29, from Oxford, had his right leg amputated below the knee after he was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG).

Sergeant Stephen Young, 28, from Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, suffered a broken back after his vehicle was blown up by an improvised explosive device and Private Jaco Van Gass, 24, from South Africa, had his left arm amputated and was left with significant tissue loss to his left leg when he too was hit by an RPG.

Two charity co-founders, Ed Parker and Simon Daglish, complete the team headed by expedition leader Inge Solheim.

The extra day’s trekking will have been welcomed by Harry, whose time with the team was earlier cut short after delayed starts due to the bad weather.