Mark had the opportunity to meet with both of the Princes for the first time, before Prince William made a speech to officially open Tedworth House, which has the capacity to accommodate 50 residents, 4 families and over 150 visitors.
During the speeches Bryn Parry, Co-Founder of H4H, thanked their Royal Highnesses for their support of the charity and lifelong commitment to the care of our wounded. As the crowd clapped, Prince Harry waved off Staff Sergeant Steve Arnold, Corporal Claire Edwards and Corporal Charlie Lemon, a US Veteran, all on specially converted hand bikes, as they rode away launching the 2013 “Hero Ride” to raise further funds for H4H.
Help for Heroes has spent £50million to build, equip and run four Recovery Centres to provide ongoing support for wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women injured in Afghanistan and Iraq. The centres are located in Tedworth, Catterick, Colchester and Plymouth, and provide world-class facilities to identify and address both the physical and mental toll that conflict can take on the individual soldier, sailor, airman or veteran. The Centres are designed to support those wounded while serving their country to rebuild every aspect of their life, until they are well enough to leave full-time medical care.
During his visit to Tedworth House, Mark Francois also met with recovering troops and their families, before being shown the state-of-the-art Phoenix Centre gym, as well as an indoor ski simulator, named the Andy Griffiths Skiplex, in memory of a young captain who died in Afghanistan in 2010.
Commenting on the visit to Tedworth House, Mark Francois said:
“It was a great privilege to meet both Prince William and Prince Harry for the first time, not least on such a happy occasion such as the opening of the new Help for Heroes centre at Tedworth House. Help for Heroes, led by its inspirational leader Bryn Parry, has raised over £160 million for wounded service personnel since it was founded several years ago and is a great cause and one which, as our veterans Minister, I am very proud to support. It is so important that we assist those who have been wounded in the service of their country and it’s good to see that, from members of the Royal Family downwards, this feeling is clearly shared.”
