Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in honor of Veterans Day and Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Nations, on Nov. 11.
As the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, Harry is sixth in the line of succession to the British throne, but in January 2020, the couple stepped down as senior members of the royal family and moved to the Duchess’s native Southern California.
During the visit, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met with American sailors, Marines, soldiers, airmen, coast guards and their families to discuss the challenges and experiences they have throughout their military careers.
Having served 10 years in the British Army before retiring in 2015, The Duke of Sussex spoke about his experience with the pressures of being exposed to traumatic situations.
In 2006, Harry was scheduled to be deployed with his unit as a troop commander in Iraq but the head of the British army at the time, General Sir Richard Dannatt, decided that he would not go due to concerns that the Prince would be a high-value target.
The following year, the British Ministry of Defense revealed that Harry had been secretly deployed as a Forward Air Controller to Helmand Province in Afghanistan, where Canadian and British forces were participating in the NATO-led war.
He explained the importance of having a unique military family that shares the same understanding of what it takes to serve, emphasizing camaraderie, mental health and wellness.
“As we honor and reflect on Remembrance Day in the UK, which shares a date with Veterans Day here in the US, my hope is for all of us to continue to support the wellbeing and recognize the value of our troops, veterans, and the entire military and service family. We and they are better for it,” said Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex.
The couple married in May 2018 in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom.
The groom, Prince Harry, is a member of the British royal family; the bride, Meghan Markle, is American and previously worked as an actress, blogger, and charity ambassador and advocate.
Markle was previously married to American film producer Trevor Engelson from 2011 until their divorce in 2013. She retired from acting upon her marriage to Prince Harry in 2018 and became known as the Duchess of Sussex.
The marriage prompted favorable comments about having a mixed-race person in the royal family, but the couple stepped down as senior members in 2020 due to personal privacy issues and perceived hostile media treatment, particularly by the British tabloids.
They subsequently settled in her native California to pursue business ventures and charity work. They have two children, Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.