Harry amused at children's clamour for him to be king

Updated

Prince Harry high fived a schoolboy who asked him if he would ever be king, and told him: "You'll be glad to know, probably not".

The fun-loving royal grinned at the question from nine-year-old Tristan who said he would "love" Harry to become the monarch.

The prince was filming a special edition of Sky Sports show Game Changers at Lambs Lane Primary School in Wokingham with Invictus Games competitors and dozens of pupils.

Children were invited to put forward questions, and Tristan took the opportunity to ask: "Are you ever going to be king?"

Harry replied: "That's the question everybody wanted, let's be honest!"

Laughter rang out followed by groans of dismay when the prince answered: "You'll be glad to know, probably not."

When Tristan looked disappointed at his answer, Harry said: "Oh look at the disappointment! I love that. I'm going to give you a high five."

Tristan said he would "love" Harry to be the head of state, adding: "I just want Prince Harry to do what he wants, so what he really, really wants. And yeah I think it'd be a fun experience for him to be king."

Madison, 10, a keen dancer, added her voice to the calls for Harry to be king.

"He's really nice and I would like to see him king," she said, adding: "He's really fun."

The prince's visit was a surprise to the children, and many of them had shocked expressions on their faces when he walked through the doors of the school hall.

Harry took time during filming to chat to the pupils and joined them in playing games.

He spent time with 10-year-old wheelchair user Craig and the pair watched a video of an extreme wheelchair athlete performing stunts and tricks.

Craig said it was "cool" to meet Harry, adding: "I didn't think he would be here today. It was such a surprise to see him."

Talking about the video he and Harry watched, Craig said the prince told him: "I hope to see you when you do backflips in your wheelchair."

Harry left the Army last summer after a 10-year career as an officer which saw him deployed twice to Afghanistan.

He has continued his association with the military and recently unveiled the UK's team for the 2016 Invictus Games, the Paralympics-style tournament for injured servicemen and women and veterans.

The Games will be held in Orlando, Florida, in May, and the 2017 Games will take place in Toronto.

Speaking about the future of the Games, Harry said: "Toronto is going to be even bigger, even better than America, and it's going to continue, maybe one more year after that.

"We're conscious about the fact that we don't want to exhaust the Games. It's there for a purpose and we're not at war now, so it makes sense to eventually, at some point, put it in a box, and keep it God forbid that we need to use it again.

"But as long as it serves as a purpose for these guys we'll keep it going."

Harry was joined by three Invictus competitors at the filming of Game Changers - Stuart Robinson and Scott Meenagh, who are both double-leg amputees, and Mary Wilson who suffered severe shoulder damage whilst on a military horse riding course and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2004.

:: Game Changers Invictus Special will air on Friday April 29 at 5pm on Sky Sports 1.

Prince Harry spoke about how the competitors welcomed the frank approach of children when asked why he decided to take part in the show.

"There's got to be a focus on the next generation, there has to be, and the beauty of it, though it's a massive risk from our point of view, is kids will ask whatever they want to ask, they have no inhibitions," the prince told Sky News.

"They have no problem with going up to someone and saying: 'You've got no legs, why?' and these guys are a little bit upset, a little bit bored of the parents pulling the kids away saying, leave the poor man alone, they would much rather tell their story."

Harry also talked about the psychological support he was given when he left the Army and said part of him could relate to what Invictus competitors have gone through psychologically due to the "images that I've been unfortunate to see".

"The Army put you through a day, two-day course on the way back through Cyprus, which is crucial to everybody," he said.

"You know, I described it to someone ages ago as one of those slide shows that go through your mind. If you've got a good imagination as well, everything that you see, especially if it's something that is quite powerful, then that slide is in there.

"It's always in there and if you have dark moments in your life those slides will pop up.

"You know there are images I've been lucky enough not to see, but there have been images that I've been unfortunate to see, nothing like some of these guys, but yes there is a percentage of me being able to relate to exactly what they go through."

:: Sky Sports' Game Changers Invictus Special is available to download on demand from Wednesday April 27.

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