PR guru: Invictus Games should now keep clear of duke
THE Invictus Games must distance itself from Prince Harry after his ‘insensitive’ Taliban revelations risked damaging the reputation of the Army, a public relations guru has warned.
Publicist Lynne Franks said the Duke of Sussex’s decision to reveal that he killed 25 extremists while serving in Afghanistan ‘made him look a complete idiot’.
Veterans and military chiefs reacted with fury as Harry’s ‘body count’ was revealed when copies of his memoir Spare accidentally went on sale in Spain last week, saying it created a security risk at the forthcoming Invictus tournament.
Ms Franks said she feared the fall-out from the book would affect the Games, the international sporting competition for injured, wounded and sick veterans founded by Harry in 2014. She added: ‘The revelations haven’t done Harry or the Armed Forces any favours... it has made him look a complete idiot.
‘The Invictus Games is the best thing he’s done, so it would be a tragedy if his book affected them in any way. Would I advise them to distance themselves from Harry? For the moment, I would.
‘I wouldn’t cut him off entirely, I would hope that some bridges can be built, as with his family. There is huge healing to be done. But this is definitely not the right type of publicity. His advisers should have been thinking about what this would do to the future “brand Harry”, and not making a quick buck.’
Harry’s claims, including that he saw Taliban fighters as ‘chess pieces’ during operations, prompted anger from the Armed Forces community. Ben McBean, a former Royal Marine and friend of the prince, said: ‘Revealing certain information [is not] wise. Now, there is obviously a backlash. It means we’re talking about the book, but for all the wrong reasons.’
Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP and former Army captain, urged Harry to ‘clarify it was unwise to make such comments’ which were ‘out of step’ with military behaviour. This year’s Invictus Games will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany, in September, with hundreds of veterans from 20 countries taking part. Harry remains the Games’ patron, and attended last year’s competition with his wife, Meghan.
Admiral Lord West, former head of the Royal Navy, told the Sunday Mirror: ‘There will be serious security issues because of what he said. Measures will have to be put in place to protect veterans. There will be people who, given half the chance, will want to do something.’
Security adviser Stefan Bisanz, who has worked with the German defence ministry, added: ‘Everyone who has invited him to attend a conference or an event – Prince Harry has now endangered them all.’ The Invictus Games did not respond to requests for a comment.
It came as traumatised veterans have sought professional help after becoming distressed by the confessions, it has been claimed. Major Cormac Doyle, a mental health nurse who served in the military for 25 years, said: ‘I’ve already received calls from many of my former patients who are very upset by what Harry has said. Harry is meant to be a mental health campaigner so what he said was badly thought out.’
Jeff Williams, a former Royal Marines sergeant major and founder of the support group Veterans United Against Suicide, said: ‘For many veterans this will bring back terrible memories of killing and losing friends in combat.
‘I’m amazed that Harry, who is meant to be a mental health campaigner, has not realised this. It is crass in the extreme. This is all about making money through book sales. He’s gone from hero to zero in one boastful move.’
Derek Hunt, whose son Nathan served as a bomb disposal expert with Harry’s unit in 2008 but died by suicide in 2018, said he was ‘staggered’ by the revelations. He said: ‘No one I have ever met in the Armed Forces has ever talked about a body count of people they have killed in that way. It’s undignified.
‘That’s not the way soldiers behave. A lot of soldiers and veterans will find his comments about killing very upsetting and [they] perhaps may even trigger some people into having flashbacks.’