Duke of Sussex lays wreath for fallen soldier

The Duke of Sussex has paid tribute to a British soldier killed in Malawi in May during a counter-poaching operation.

Prince Harry was "honoured" to lay a wreath for Guardsman Matthew Talbot, 22, who was killed by an elephant in May during a counter-poaching operation.

Harry was "honoured" to pay his respects to the soldier at Liwonde National Park - where Matthew had been working on a joint mission between the British Army, African Parks and the Malawian government on behalf of his family.

A post on the 35-year-old Prince's Instagram account read: "Side by side with local park rangers in Liwonde National Park, The Duke of Sussex has laid a wreath at the memorial of Guardsman Matthew Talbot. Guardsman Talbot, who was just 22, lost his life earlier this year while on a joint anti-poaching mission with the British Army, the Malawian government and African Parks.

"The Counter-Poaching Operation is an on-going partnership that requires local organisations such as @AfricanParksNetwork to monitor and protect wildlife from poachers, so that communities can benefit from tourism. These patrols by African Park Rangers can last between 10 hours and 8 days.

"Guardsmen Talbot was incredibly proud of his role in countering this threat and had played a huge part in the progress and success so far."

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Side by side with local park rangers in Liwonde National Park, The Duke of Sussex has laid a wreath at the memorial of Guardsman Matthew Talbot. Guardsman Talbot, who was just 22, lost his life earlier this year while on a joint anti-poaching mission with the British Army, the Malawian government and African Parks. The Counter-Poaching Operation is an on-going partnership that requires local organisations such as @AfricanParksNetwork to monitor and protect wildlife from poachers, so that communities can benefit from tourism. These patrols by African Park Rangers can last between 10 hours and 8 days. Guardsmen Talbot was incredibly proud of his role in countering this threat and had played a huge part in the progress and success so far. The Duke laid the wreath on behalf of the Talbot family, and said he was honoured to be able to do so, as he has worked closely with park rangers in these efforts and celebrates each and every one of them as heroes. Often away from the public eye, many people are prepared to put themselves in harm’s way, in a bid to protect wildlife from poachers. The joint missions, with support of the local community, were established by The Duke and have proven to reduce poacher activity. #RoyalVisitMalawi Photo ©️ PA images

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex(@sussexroyal) on Sep 30, 2019 at 2:56am PDT

And Harry praised other park rangers as "heroes" for putting themselves "in harm's way" to protect local wildlife from poachers.

The post continued: "The Duke laid the wreath on behalf of the Talbot family, and said he was honoured to be able to do so, as he has worked closely with park rangers in these efforts and celebrates each and every one of them as heroes.

"Often away from the public eye, many people are prepared to put themselves in harm's way, in a bid to protect wildlife from poachers. The joint missions, with support of the local community, were established by The Duke and have proven to reduce poacher activity."