In his continuing role to support injured veterans Prince Harry is part of three teams who will be equipped with walking clothing and everything else on there way to race to the South Pole. The three teams one from the UK, one from America and one made up of Commonwealth members are beginning there trip this coming weekend to raise money and to show what wounded veterans are capable of doing.

They were given a ceremonial send-off in Trafalgar Square where the Royal Prince took command of the race Flag and unveiled the trophy they will all be competing for, with a the slightly long-winded title of ‘The Walking with the Wounded Virgin Money South Pole Allied Challenge Endeavour Trophy’. Harry will be the first member of The Royal Family to trek across Antarctica on behalf of military charities. Prior to this the teams were taken to Buckingham Palace and introduced to the Queen who joked that even with all the travelling she has undertaken she had never been to Antarctica, ‘but couldn’t think of any reason to!”.

The veterans, many of whom have lost limbs during conflicts around the globe, are prepared to conquer a 200 mile long journey across the ice in sub-zero temperatures and facing tempestuous winds at the very least. Harry, and his elder brother have been at the forefront of supporting veterans through their charity projects, and as the main celebrity on the British team hopes he won’t slow them down too much as he recently broke his big toe. All of the teams have undergone months of training, including time spent in an ice chamber to become acclimatised to some of the conditions they are likely to face. As well as The Prince, the other celebrities taking part are Alexander Skarsgard (star of True Blood) who will lead the Americans, and the Commonwealth Team is being led by British actor Dominic West. All the remaining members of each team (seven in total) are men and women who have been wounded during active service.

The only Press on the trip will be one camera crew at Base Camp, but members of each team are expected to send updates on their journey via computer uplinks. They will set out from Novolazarevskaya Station (which would score quite a few points in a game of Scrabble) after a few days of acclimatisation before the race begins on November 30th. Pulling pulks, which are custom built arctic sledges weighing nearly 150lbs, they hope to cover between 9 and 12 miles a day in conditions which could be temperatures of around -50 degrees and 50mph winds, well it is Spring down there at the moment.

Well may the best British team win, no bias there at all, and I hope they all reach the finish with everything intact. But if you want to wrap up warm this winter in walking clothing check out the latest bargains on the website and make sure you don’t feel like you are facing Antarctic conditions.