Prince Harry launches Oman trek for ex-service personnel charity

A 250-mile (400 km) fundraising desert trek by wounded ex-service personnel has been launched by Prince Harry.

The Walk of Oman will see a team tow a provisions cart weighing 660lb (300kg) across the dunes of the Empty Quarter.

The Duke of Sussex has been a patron of organising charity Walking with the Wounded since it was founded in 2010.

He accompanied previous walks to the North and South Poles and in the UK but it is not yet known if he will join the three-week trek in November.

The charity supports former members of the British armed forces to regain independence through employment.

The latest event - being run in partnership with the Omani armed forces - has been inspired by journeys made by the British explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger across the Arabian Peninsula in the 1940s.

A support team will follow the expedition, which will walk about 12 miles (20km) a day in temperatures as high as 35C.

Prince Harry said: "At the end of this year, a year that has seen unprecedented global challenges, a group of veterans will be tackling a challenge unlike anything they've faced before.

"Facing searing temperatures and pulling a cart that weighs more than three times their own body weight, these veterans will need to summon incredible physical and mental strength."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now based in California, having stepped back as senior royals at the end of March.

Prince Harry also founded the Invictus Games for injured service personnel and veterans in 2014.