Harry’s history of chivalry: 5 acts that prove he’s a knight in shining armour

Prince Harry doesn’t need to draw a sword to wield a powerful display of chivalry! The royal came to the defense of girlfriend Meghan Markle in an unprecedented statement Tuesday. “Worried” about her safety and “deeply disappointed” that he hasn’t been able to protect her, Harry called out the “wave of abuse and harassment” his new girlfriend has been subjected to since their relationship was made public. The groundbreaking plea is one of many gallant acts from the royal. Here are five times Prince Harry came to the rescue. 1. He served 10 years in the Army. The prince — known as Capt. Harry Wales in the Army — served two tours in Afghanistan before retiring from the Armed Forces in March 2015. “After a decade of service, moving on from the Army has been a really tough decision,” Prince Harry said in a statement at the time. “I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the chance to do some very challenging jobs and have met many fantastic people in the process.” 2. He’s devoted to helping fellow veterans. In 2014, Harry launched the Invictus Games — a multi-sport event created specifically for wounded, injured, or sick armed services personnel. “These guys do not want sympathy,” Harry told PEOPLE in May’s exclusive cover story. “They view it as an opportunity to put on a show for all those people who have supported them. Despite being well trained and flying a multi-million dollar Apache helicopter during his second tour of Afghanistan in 2012-13, the former British Army captain says he felt powerless as he flew missions to save lives. “You turn up and you think you’re invincible in a super-duper aircraft, but you’re helpless,” he said. “Then I come back and I say, ‘How can I use my name and that spotlight to the best effect?’ ” Creating the Games, he notes, was “almost like a cure for that pain I had back then.” 3. He helped rebuild an earthquake-hit school in Nepal. After his official visit to Nepal in March, Harry made a surprise announcement that he was staying in the country to help rebuild a school that was damaged by last year’s devastating earthquakes. “The people I have met and the beauty of this country make it very hard to leave. Thankfully however, I’m not leaving just yet,” Harry said. 4. He spent the summer saving elephants. Prince Harry has a passion for protecting animals. He spent the summer working with the 500 Elephants conservation initiative in Malawi. For three weeks, he worked on the ground — and air‚ helping to anaesthetize the elephants, fix radio collars and monitor their breathing to ensure each one was safely relocated. A role that Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks, described as “vital.” 5. He has a big heart when it comes to kids. For Prince Harry, children are the “upgrade of us,” so it makes it doubly important to make sure they are always involved in what he does. The prince, who set up his children’s charity Sentebale in Lesotho, Africa, more than a decade ago, told PEOPLE that whatever he and his brother Prince William and Princess Kate are doing, they hope to bring in the next generation. “All the amazing things that are going to happen in the future, it’s all going to be them,” he said. “I never want to lose touch with that generation.”