JJ Chalmers, a close friend of Prince Harry and an Invictus Games medallist, appeared on The One Show on Friday to defend his friend's recent decision to step back from his royal duties, adding that the Duke of Sussex is merely "protecting his family". The pair met more than five years ago when they served together in the military.
JJ, 33, expressed his support for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell decision and said that he believes it comes from their desire to protect their son Archie.
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He began: "I’m very lucky and fortunate to have an insight into [Harry’s] life, and he has changed my life through the Invictus Games. When I first met him five years ago we were both serving in the military, we were both sort of leaving the military, and in some ways he was leaving the military not on his terms as well because of who he is. We transitioned out of the military, we both got involved with Invictus and it changed our lives, ultimately we both got married and we both had kids, the biggest thing that changes your life is having children."
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© Photo: Getty ImagesHarry and JJ are very close
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JJ continued: "He’s less the captain in the army I knew, and he’s more a father, that’s the first thing I ask him about. And I think the decision that he has made, at the forefront of that is to protect his family, because that’s the number one rule is to be a father and to be a husband."
It was then that Harry's friend suggested family was the sole reason behind the royal couple's choice, adding: "I would say so, any husband wants to protect their wife and any father wants to protect their children. He is a very principled individual and so when he looks at how the media reacts and how social media talks about someone, he has to answer to his son one day when he begins to understand this and be able to look him in the face and say, 'I made the right decision and I did right by you.'"
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