
As an adventurous royal father with a new family, it’s perhaps fitting that Prince Harry has become the first person to enjoy a sneak-peek at Land Rover’s long-awaited next generation Defender.

And given his new requirements for a flexible family runaround that can cut it in the countryside, it could prove just the job to transport his wife Meghan and their new precious cargo, son Archie.

Prince Harry’s exclusive tour of the new Defender, which goes on sale early next year, came when he joined potential competitors at a pre-launch event in Holland ahead of Invictus Games The Hague 2020, of which he is patron.

New family car, Harry? Prince Harry had an exclusive first look at Land Rover's forthcoming Defender during a visit to The Hague, Netherlands, ahead of the 2020 Invictus Games

The new off-roader from Britain’s biggest car-maker is the successor to the legendary Defender – which can trace its life back to 1948 when the original rugged post-war back-to-basics 4X4 Land Rover was launched.

The Defender is a favourite of Harry’s grandmother, the Queen, who has been frequently photographed and filmed driving one.

The Duke of Sussex maintained this long-standing royal connection when he became the first person to publicly experience the new Defender prototype - wrapped in light Invictus Games-themed camouflage - as he began the 12-month countdown to the event.

Invictus Games competitors in the Jaguar Land Rover Challenge next May will also be among the first people to drive the new Defender after its official launch.

However, although Prince Harry is flying the flag for the new off-roader that has been ‘designed and engineered’ in the UK, Jaguar Land Rover announced controversially at the end of last month that new generation 4X4 will actually be built abroad – in Slovakia rather than Britain.

The shock confirmation to build what is considered an iconic British car overseas was seen by some as a bitter blow for the UK – but the firm insisted that Brexit ‘had not played a role in the decision’.

Given his new requirements for a flexible family runaround that can cut it in the countryside, the next-generation Defender could prove just the job to transport Harry, wife Meghan and their new precious cargo, son Archie

The Duke was viewing the new Defender with Dutch Invictus Games medal winner Jack Pastora (right)

Prince Harry is the patron for the Invictus Games - a sporting event created by the Duke of Sussex for wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans

The world was given a first glimpse of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's newborn son, Archie,on Wednesday

The 71-year-old Defender – it was given this name in 1990 after previous incarnations were known as Series 1 and 2 Land Rovers and the 90 and 110 - was built at Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull factory near Birmingham until production ceased in 2016.

But its successor will be built at Jaguar Land Rover’s new £1billion state-of-the art factory in Nitra, Slovakia, stretching over 30,000-square metres and with capacity for 150,000 vehicles a year – with the option to double that. The Land Rover Discovery has been built there since it opened in October.

JLR said: ’At heart we are a British company.’

Prince Harry was pictured briefly next to an outgoing last generation Defender – which ceased production in 2016 - when he announced to television cameras on Monday that his wife Meghan had given birth to their son, subsequently named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

The next-generation Defender, photographed here in Invictus Games-themed camoflauge, will be unveiled at the end of the year and be available in the UK from 2020 with a starting price of around £40,000

Harry, who became a father on Monday, could be in the market for a new family car. Jaguar Land Rover holds three royal warrants and The Duke of Sussex has often been spotted driving the manufacturer's vehicles

In fact, Prince Harry arrived in a Range Rover SVAutobiography to the launch of the one-year countdown to the games in Holland. Here he's seen walking with Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Invictus Games chairman, Mart de Kruif

He also has form with Jaguar Land Rover cars at public appearances, including on his wedding day.

However, the new Defender is a far cry from the two-seater zero-emissions electric E-Type Jaguar - specially converted from petrol – in which Prince Harry drove his new bride from his Windsor Castle to their reception at nearby Frogmore House last August.

From 2020 all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will offer the option of electrification ranging from fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles, as well as offering the latest diesel and petrol engines.

Jaguar Land Rover - which holds three royal warrants - is the Presenting Partner of the fifth Invictus Games for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women taking place at the Zuiderpark. The Duke was viewing the new Defender with Dutch Invictus Games medal winner Jack Pastora.

Prince Harry also had a chance to experience new mobility door technology being developed for disabled motorists and showcased in a Range Rover Sport at the One Year To Go launch event.

As well as checking out every detail of the new Defender, Prince Harry also had a chance to experience new mobility door technology Jaguar Land Rover is developing to help disabled motorists

The Defender is a favourite of Harry’s grandmother, the Queen. Her Royal Highness and Prince Philip wave from an open Land Rover to a crowd in Tobruk during an official visit to Libya, May 1954

A royal favourite: Queen Elizabeth II standing with Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort (1900-1984) beside a Land Rover Series IIA station wagon with Princess Anne, Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Andrew seated on the roof as they observe events at the Badminton horse trials in Gloucestershire, England on 20th April 1969

Once on board, occupants can close the power-assisted doors with no need to reach out and pull them shut.

He was joined and assisted by Invictus Games London 2014 gold medallist and TV presenter JJ Chalmers, a former Royal Marine.

Next year’s Invictus Games in The Hague is expected to attract 500 competitors from 19 nations to compete in a series of adaptive sports between May 9 and 16 2020.

The Defender has already undergone more than 744,000 miles of extreme testing ahead of its unveiling later in 2019

Production of the new Defender will take place at Land Rover's new £1 billion state-of-the-art factory in Nitra, Slovakia, it was confirmed at the end of April

The 2019 Defender has been driven up to 10,000ft altitude of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to ensure the new Defender will take everyday life in its stride

Jaguar Land Rover chief executive officer Prof Dr Ralf Speth said: ‘I am so proud the competitors will be among the first people in the world to drive the new Defender when they compete in the Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge in The Hague.’

In 2018 Jaguar Land Rover sold 592,708 vehicles in 128 countries. It currently has two major design and engineering sites – in Coventry and Gaydon, Warwickshire- with three car factories in Birmingham, Solihull and Merseyside, plus an engine plant in Wolverhampton.

As well as Slovakia, it also has plants in China, Brazil, India and Austria.