Ex UK royal, Prince Harry has defended NATO troops in Afghanistan after US President Donald Trump claimed that they had stayed “a little off the front lines.”
Harry, who also served in Afghanistan, said that the sacrifices of NATO soldiers “deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect.”
“In 2001, NATO invoked Article 5 for the first—and only—time in history. It meant that every allied nation was obliged to stand with the United States in Afghanistan, in pursuit of our shared security. Allies answered that call,” Harry said in a statement provided by his spokesperson.
“I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there,” Harry said.
During the operations in Afghanistan, Harry said 457 British service personnel were killed.
“Thousands of lives were changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost,” Harry said on Friday.
“Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defence of diplomacy and peace,” he added.
Harry was deployed to Afghanistan for about ten weeks in 2007-2008 and returned for a four-month deployment in 2012.
In his 2023 autobiography, the prince wrote about his military experience in Afghanistan, where he claimed to have killed 25 Taliban fighters while serving for the British Army.