LONGYEARBYEN, Norway — Britain’s Prince Harry was stranded in the Arctic on Thursday after his flight home from a charity expedition with wounded soldiers was delayed because of cracked ice.
The third in line to the throne was expected to be delayed by up to 48 hours after the landing strip at Ice Camp Barneo started to break up, London’s Evening Standard reported.
A spokesman for Clarence House said, “He will now spend an extra day trekking with the team and return to Barneo tonight [Thursday] by helicopter to await the first available flight.”
The prince is about 140 miles from the camp with four soldiers who were badly wounded in the war in Afghanistan.
Problems with the landing strip had previously delayed his arrival to the base camp at Longyearbyen, where temperatures can hit as low as -76F (-60C).
The group is attempting to walk 200 miles to the North Pole to raise £2 million ($3.25 million) for the Walking with the Wounded charity. Prince Harry is the charity’s patron.
The prince must return to Britain next week to resume training as a helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps.