For the last three years, presidents, prime ministers, movie actors, rock stars and writers have traveled to Ukraine, seeking to show solidarity with a country under assault from its neighbor, Russia. Add Prince Harry to that list.
On Thursday, Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, made an unannounced visit to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, where he toured a rehabilitation facility for military and civilian victims of the conflict. He spoke with patients and staff members, according to a spokesman for his office.
Harry’s office confirmed the visit only after he had left Ukraine, reflecting the fact that Lviv is still periodically targeted with missiles by Russia. Earlier this week, he was in London for a court hearing in a dispute over the withdrawal of automatic taxpayer-financed security for him and his family when they visit Britain.
Harry’s visit to the rehabilitation clinic is in keeping with one of his most cherished causes: casualties of war. A combat veteran himself, he founded the Invictus Games, a sports competition for injured military veterans, in 2014. He was joined on the visit by a delegation from the Invictus Games Foundation, after being invited by Olga Rudneva, the chief executive of the clinic, which is known as the Superhumans Center.
The center offers reconstructive surgery, prosthetics, and psychological counseling — free of charge — to war victims. During his tour, in which Harry spoke to an injured child and men who had lost limbs, he also met with Ukraine’s minister of veterans affairs, Natalia Kalmykova.
Harry’s trip coincided with the end of a four-day state visit to Italy by Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla. That raised questions about optics among some royal watchers, who noted that members of the royal family generally avoid upstaging monarchs during their overseas travels. Buckingham Palace did not comment.
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