NI Army veteran defends Harry’s actions
Col Collins says duke is right to put family first
A HIGH-PROFILE Northern Ireland-born Army veteran has urged people to respect the Duke of Sussex’s decision to step back from his role within the Royal family.
Col Tim Collins (59) moved to defend Harry amid criticism over his decision to withdraw from royal duties, including official military appointments.
Col Collins, best known for his rousing battle speech on the eve of the 2003 Iraq invasion, made his comments during a BBC interview.
Prince Harry has severed all of his military connections — he had links with the Army, the Navy and the Royal Marines.
He said on Sunday night: “Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.
“I’ve accepted this, knowing that it doesn’t change who I am or how committed I am.”
Col Collins said Harry, who is moving to Canada with his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, would be missed by all the service organisations with which he was associated.
Some former Army officers and relatives of soldiers who have died in service have expressed their disappointment that Harry, who served twice in Afghanistan during his 10-year military career, has ended his patronage of them. Other veterans disagreed, however, saying they had lost respect for him over the way he has treated his grandmother, the Queen.
Col Collins said he was saddened by Harry’s move and described him as a valued member of regimental organisations and the Royal Marines, of which he was the Captain General, succeeding his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the role.
He added: “Harry will be missed and he will be very hard to replace, but we also have to think about his circumstances.
“He’s a young man who had a difficult start to his life, losing his mother so early. He has borne up well and he has served the country with distinction.
“He’s now found happiness with his young family and that becomes his priority. I think we should respect that.”
Col Collins said that having Royal figures linked with Army regiments was particularly important for military families in particular who valued their support. He said that in his experience with the Royal Irish, the royals had proved to be part of a caring institution.
Col Collins also spoke about Prince Andrew, who has been at the centre of a storm over his friendship with the late American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and claims that he had sex with an underage girl — allegations that Andrew strongly denies.
Col Collins talked of how Andrew helped his regiment, the
Royal Irish, in 2000 when a rebel militia group took five soldiers hostage during a training mission in Sierra Leone in west Africa. The Royal Irish personnel were eventually rescued by the
SAS and the Special Boat Service and 25 rebels were killed and 18 of them were injured. One of the rescuers also died.
Col Collins said that the trauma of the hostage crisis was completely ignored by the British Government and the media but Prince Andrew, who was Royal Irish Colonel in Chief at the time, was the only person who “showed any interest”.