Prince Harry has insisted an amputee former marine should be "really proud" of his triathlon efforts.
Prince Harry called a former marine
Lee Spencer had aimed to achieve "something no one, able-bodied or disabled, has done before" with his Triathlon of Great Britain - which was due to see him swim 22 miles, cycle 1,060 miles, and hike 45 miles - but after starting the challenge on 27 July, he was forced to give up on 5 August due to "excruciating" pain in his stump.
After admitting he was "absolutely gutted" to abort the triathlon, Harry gave him a call to praise his efforts and lift his spirits.
In a clip of their video call shared to Instagram, Harry told Lee: "You basically circled the whole of the U.K. and climbed two mountains, and after that, and only after that, did your stump start to give you a few issues to the point where you had to pull out of the very last phase of it.
"You put so much into this. I hope that you're really happy, I know you're not happy, but I hope that you feel really proud of yourself to have done what you've done."
The Duke of Sussex joked he wouldn't "dare" ask Lee what he planned to do next.
His pal replied: "For me, it's always been about getting the message out, not only for my disability but to keep your word to your injured servicemen and women ... "
And Lee won't give up on his triathlon dream as he is "almost certainly gonna try this again" in another way.
He added:"I definitely do have to do something that I think matters."
The prince can't wait to see what the former Marine - who was a member of Harry's four-person amputee rowing team that completed a 47-day journey across the Atlantic Ocean, racing against an able-bodied crew in 2016 - does next but urged him not to think too big.
He said: "You might not have completed this one but you certainly achieved it in my mind, so well done. I'm already excited about the next adventure — little adventure, not massive."
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