Prince Harry to undertake charity Arctic trek

Britain's Prince Harry is set to go on a gruelling trek to the North Pole with four wounded soldiers.

The third in line to the throne has announced he will join the group at their base camp in Longyearbyen, north Norway on Tuesday (29.03.11) where he will undertake three days of training with the team before going on a five-day trek to the Arctic Circle.

Harry will depart the ice on 5th April, to return to the United Kingdom where he is training to be an Apache Helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps.

Organisers hope to raise £2million for the Walking with the Wounded charity - of which Harry is a patron - which helps injured troops return to work.

The prince - whose tough training will involve dragging tyres - will face the same dangers as the rest of the group, including minus 60 degrees temperatures, the risk of falling into freezing water and attacks by polar bears.

The soldiers - who launched their expedition in January in London's Trafalgar Square in January - were all injured in Afghanistan, where Harry has served with the Armed Forces.

They include Captain Guy Disney and Private Jaco Van Gass, who both lost limbs in the conflict, Captain Martin Hewitt, whose right arm was paralysed by a bullet and Sergeant Steve Young who suffered a broken back.

Captain Disney has previously said of the prince: "I've heard his training is going well and he's getting fit for the expedition."