Dominic West recently revealed that he is no longer friends with Prince Harry after he "said too much" about their expedition together to the South Pole in 2013. The actor had told reporters about the shenanigans that the royal participated in during the charity event.
Back in 2013, West and Prince Harry joined the "Walking with the Wounded" charity event that sent them in an expedition through Antarctica with injured military veterans. They were asked about the experience during a press conference in 2014.
At the conference, he referred to the royal as a "fantastically nice chap". But he also told reporters about the exuberant celebrations that happened once they reached the South Pole on December 13.
West said as quoted by the Mirror: "Two of the Aussie guys stripped naked and ran round the pole but most of us, Harry included, just went on a two-day bender with the Icelandic truck drivers who had brought some lethal home brew with them."
2013: Dominic West and Prince Harry united for a good cause in when they trekked to the South Pole to raise money for charity Walking With the Wounded. Dominic has credited Harry with raising morale when times get hard, telling The Telegraph: pic.twitter.com/sawA75NQPp
— Layla M 안정연 (@royalrota) November 26, 2023
The actor added: "There was a lot of liqueur drunk. We all drank champagne out of Duncan's favourite prosthetic legs." He was referring to one of the veterans, Duncan Slater, Sergeant in the RAF regiment, a double amputee who was injured in Afghanistan in 2009. They drank Champagne from bottles wedged in one of his artificial legs.
Sgt. Slater, 34, from Diss, Norfolk, corroborated West's story and shared: "We decided to use my legs as a primitive ice bucket. I don't know why we did it, but we did!"
When asked about Prince Harry's talent, West shared that the royal "told some eye-wateringly rude jokes" which as a non-soldier he found "pretty shocking". He also praised the prince for his work on the latrines.
He revealed: "He would often reach the meeting point before the rest of his men and would build these incredibly lavish, castellated latrines, with battlements and loo roll holders. It must have taken him 40 minutes at least to build, they were just fabulous. I would often sit on the latrine thinking 'this is a royal flush in every way!'"
The actor likewise said: "Harry also massively helped me out when I was struggling with my skis at first. He was a great guy."
Apart from West, Sgt. Slater also said that the Duke of Sussex was brilliant at uplifting the morale of the wounded veterans by arranging cricket games in the snow or holding competitions to build the most elaborate latrines.
"It was always him who was instigating it. There were so many wind-ups. He would kind of spread himself quite thinly to be honest. He would spend time with each team member. He would make sure he mixed with everyone," he said.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry kept details about the expedition much more PG. Instead, he praised the determination of the veterans telling the press at the time that the expedition proved "those who have suffered life-changing injuries that anything is still possible".
"Every single person who takes part in this challenge is extraordinary.
"The fact these guys have made it to this point is extraordinary and I count myself incredibly lucky to be part of it."
West was recently asked if he is still close with Prince Harry during a recent radio interview about "The Crown". He admitted: "We sort of (lost touch because) I said too much in a press conference, and so, we didn't speak after that." The 54-year-old plays Prince Charles in seasons five and six of the Netflix series. He talked about the status of his friendship with the royal when quizzed if he was able to ask him for any points on how to portray his father in the show.
