Harry: I Dread To Think Of Life Without Army

Prince Harry has completed his week-long trip to New Zealand and reflected on an "epic 10 years" serving in the Armed Forces.

The 30-year-old claimed he dreads to think where he would be without the Army, and said he would encourage his niece and nephew, Charlotte and George, to join the military one day.

Harry also explained what his motivations were for signing up with the Armed Forces.

"I did it because since I was a kid I enjoyed wearing the combats, I enjoyed running around with a rifle, jumping in a ditch and living in the rain," he said.

"But then when I grew up, it became more than that - it became an opportunity for me to escape the limelight."

Harry recounted the transformation he had seen in the 11 young men who were under his supervision when he was a troop commander in Windsor.

"I dread to think where I'd be without the Army. Bring back National Service - I've said that before," he said.

"But I put my hand up, as I said to the kids today, you can make bad choices, some severe, some not so severe.

"You can make bad choices in life, but it's how you recover from those and which path you end up taking.

"And the Army has done amazing things for me. And more importantly to me, what I've seen the Army do to other young guys.

Now Harry has left the Armed Forces, he will spend the summer working on conservation projects in an undisclosed part of Africa.

However, he has insisted that the trip isn't a gap year - as he will be working with "every single animal you can possibly imagine".

Prince Harry explained he feels "more myself" in Africa, and said he has three months of "hard grafting" ahead as he shadows one of the continent's top vets.

"It's going to be amazing, whether it's darting a lion or going into a community to see how they are changing the way they are working - and for the local culture to accept that an elephant means more to them money-wise alive than shooting it," he added.