Prince Harry became toilet builder on trek

Prince Harry became a master in toilet-building during his expedition to the South Pole, a fellow trekker said as he lifted the lid on the young royal's hidden skills.

Last month Harry became the first British royal to reach the pole after a three-week charity trek with injured military veterans from Britain, the United States, Canada and Australia.

The 29-year-old urged employers to help wounded service personnel into civilian work, as he and members of the team reunited in London to celebrate the successful trek.

"The Wire" actor Dominic West, who took part in the 200-mile (320-kilometre) journey across Antarctica, said the prince, who is fourth in line to the throne, had been very much part of the team.

"He seemed to specialise in building latrines," said West.

"He built this incredible castellated structure with blocks to keep out the wind and it even had a loo roll holder."

Describing the experience of using the toilet built by a prince, the actor said: "Sitting there, looking at the beautiful view thinking 'this is a royal flush, in every way'."

Harry is patron of trek organisers Walking With The Wounded, which raises funds to retrain injured troops and help them find new careers outside the military.

"Inspiring others is one of the cornerstones of this charity: to demonstrate to those who have experienced life-changing injuries that everything is still possible," he said.

"I hope this truly unbelievable achievement by everyone behind me and back in America, Canada and Australia... will remind everybody that they can achieve anything they want to.

"Our wounded, injured and sick do not want pity. They just simply want to be treated in the same way that they were before they were injured: with respect and admiration.

"So if anybody out there has the ability or the resources to give these guys or girls a stepping stone back into employment, then please do. You certainly won't regret it."

Harry, who has shaved off the ginger beard he grew during the expedition, said a documentary on the trek would be aired in March.

It was announced last week that Queen Elizabeth II's grandson is giving up his role as an army attack helicopter pilot and Captain Wales, as he is known in the military, will instead take up a desk job coordinating army commemorative events in London.

Duncan Slater, 34, of Britain's Royal Air Force, who had both legs amputated following a blast in Afghanistan, completed the trek.

"If you lose a limb, or if you're injured generally and you spend a lot of time in medical care, you lose your self-confidence," he told AFP.

"Given a challenge, where you're going somewhere where hardly anyone's been before, you have to re-evaluate everything in life, and it gave me a lot of confidence when I got to the South Pole.

"It's almost like anything is possible. It gave me a new perspective on life."