Prince Harry Makes Surprise Appearance On The BBC To Pay Tribute To Veterans

Prince Harry‘s face has not been seen in the U.K. for months. On Monday evening, though, the former royal took part in a BBC broadcast that was designed to highlight efforts being made to support injured veterans, People reports.

Harry was speaking live from his home in Los Angeles and brought together two sets of veterans and their families to commemorate the end of World War II 75 years ago.

Maggie Wilson, the widow of veteran Sandy Saunders, told Harry that her husband had received burns to his face after he crashed in the latter part of the war. He was eventually treated by a reconstructive surgeon Archibald McIndoe, who told him how he would be fixed.

“‘You need new upper eyelids, new lower eyelids. You need a proper nose, I’ll give you a mouth so you can kiss the girls!’ That’s what happened,” Wilson explained to Harry.

Harry was clearly interested in the story and even asked if Saunders did, in fact, have good lips for kissing when the two first met. Wilson said that, indeed, he did.

Saunders helped form The Guinea Pig Club, which was founded for men who had been burned in their planes during the war. The medical care that the group received helped lay the foundation for life-changing treatments that are still used today. The name stems from their willingness to undergo experimental treatments for their injuries.

The CASEVA Club is the modern version of The Guinea Pig Club and was created to help those who were medically evacuated from the war in Afghanistan. It was set up by David Wiseman and Dave Henson, two veterans that Harry is close with who were also on the call.

As the nation was celebrating #VEDay, the Duke of Sussex took part in a special film to commemorate the bravery of veterans in various conflicts.#TheOneShow pic.twitter.com/BqbLnNjaOu

— BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) May 11, 2020

“It’s so important to remember the Guinea Pig Club and to look forward to everything that the CASEVA Club is going to achieve as well. Those individuals that signed up, chose to serve and then had life-changing injuries, they don’t stop there. That’s why it’s incredibly impressive and yet at the same time so incredibly uplifting,” Harry said in the clip.

Harry was asked by the BBC to take part in the tribute to veterans, which was designed to honor the 75th anniversary of VE Day. If not for the coronavirus pandemic, Harry would have been at the Invictus Games, which is a contest for wounded and injured servicemen he’s been involved in for years.

On Friday, Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II led the U.K. in commemorating the end of World War II. In her address, she said that today’s citizens can be proud of the country they’ve built in the war’s aftermath.