Where did Prince Harry Running to a Helicopter come from?

The original footage was filmed at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan and published by ODN News on YouTube on January 21, 2013. It shows Harry cutting short an interview during his second military deployment when an urgent mission call came in[4].

What does Prince Harry Running to a Helicopter mean?

In the meme format, it represents the universal reaction of dropping everything to go dance when you hear your favorite song. The humor comes from the contrast between the serious military context and the lighthearted club-song overdub[2].

How do you use Prince Harry Running to a Helicopter?

Caption a post describing hearing a specific song in a club or party setting, then attach the helicopter clip with the original audio replaced by that song. The format works best with universally beloved or nostalgic bangers[6].

Is Prince Harry Running to a Helicopter still popular?

The meme saw its biggest surge in 2018 and had a notable resurgence in 2021 during the Piers Morgan GMB controversy[1]. It still gets shared occasionally when Harry is in the news, though it's less frequent than during its 2018 peak.

Why did Prince Harry run from the interview?

He was called to an urgent helicopter mission while being interviewed about his military service at Camp Bastion. As an Apache helicopter gunner, he needed to respond immediately, so he ripped off his microphone and sprinted to join his crew[3].

What song was used in the first remix?

The first remix, posted by YouTuber producertom85 on January 23, 2013, used ice cream truck music to make it look like Harry was chasing down the ice cream van. It got over 17 million views[4].

Which version of the meme was most popular?

The version set to Juvenile's "Back That Azz Up" by Twitter user @aDopamineFiend received over 90,000 retweets and 177,000 likes, making it the most-shared single iteration[4].

When was Prince Harry stationed in Afghanistan?

Harry served in Helmand, Afghanistan for ten weeks between 2007-2008 during his first deployment, and returned for a second deployment from 2012 to 2013 before leaving the army in 2015[1].

Why did the meme come back in 2021?

It was shared as a contrast to Piers Morgan storming off the Good Morning Britain set during a debate about Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview. Users highlighted that Harry had a much better reason to walk off camera[1].

Prince Harry Running To A Helicopter

Q: What is Prince Harry Running to a Helicopter?

It's a video meme format based on a 2013 clip of Prince Harry abruptly leaving an interview in Afghanistan to sprint toward his Apache helicopter. Users dub popular songs over the clip to make it look like Harry is running to the dance floor[4].

2013Video remix / music dubsemi-active

Also known as: Prince Harry In The Club · When Your Song Comes On

Prince Harry Running To A Helicopter is a 2013 video remix meme featuring the royal sprinting toward his Apache helicopter, later dubbed with club tracks to make it appear he's racing to the dance floor.

Prince Harry Running to a Helicopter is a video remix meme built from a 2013 clip of Prince Harry abruptly ending a television interview in Afghanistan to sprint toward his Apache helicopter for an urgent military mission. The original footage went viral on YouTube, and in 2018 it exploded on Twitter as users dubbed popular club songs over the clip, making it look like Harry was running to the dance floor when his favorite track dropped.

mashup video memes celebrity reaction memes music memes delayed virality memes british memes

Overview

The meme uses a specific clip from a televised interview with Prince Harry at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, where he was serving as an Apache helicopter gunner. Mid-sentence, Harry gets interrupted by what appears to be an emergency call. He quickly yanks off his microphone with a serious expression and bolts in a full sprint toward the helicopter while other military personnel run in the same direction behind him.

The clip's appeal is simple: stripped of military context, Harry's dead-serious face followed by his sudden sprint looks exactly like someone ditching a boring conversation the second they hear their favorite song. The format works by replacing the original audio with a popular club track, turning a tense military moment into a relatable nightlife joke2.

On January 21, 2013, the YouTube channel ODN News uploaded a video titled "Dramatic moment Prince Harry runs for his helicopter during Afghanistan interview"4. The footage came from a CNN and ABC interview about Harry's second deployment to Afghanistan and his life in the Army Air Corps5. Harry, then 28 and known by his military nickname "Captain Wales," was stationed at Camp Bastion with the Army Air Corps from 2012 to 20131. During the interview, someone offscreen appeared to alert Harry to an urgent situation. He removed his microphone, his face shifting to a focused expression, and took off running toward the other troops heading for the helicopter3.

The original video picked up over 1.8 million views on YouTube in its first five years4. Two days after the upload, on January 23, 2013, YouTuber producertom85 posted the first remix, replacing the audio with the sound of an ice cream truck. That version made it look like Harry was sprinting to catch the ice cream van, and it racked up more than 17 million views4.

Origin & Background

Platform

YouTube (original clip by ODN News), Twitter (viral remix format)

Key People

ODN News, producertom85, @_lvurenprice

Date

2013 (original clip), 2018 (viral meme format)

On January 21, 2013, the YouTube channel ODN News uploaded a video titled "Dramatic moment Prince Harry runs for his helicopter during Afghanistan interview". The footage came from a CNN and ABC interview about Harry's second deployment to Afghanistan and his life in the Army Air Corps. Harry, then 28 and known by his military nickname "Captain Wales," was stationed at Camp Bastion with the Army Air Corps from 2012 to 2013. During the interview, someone offscreen appeared to alert Harry to an urgent situation. He removed his microphone, his face shifting to a focused expression, and took off running toward the other troops heading for the helicopter.

The original video picked up over 1.8 million views on YouTube in its first five years. Two days after the upload, on January 23, 2013, YouTuber producertom85 posted the first remix, replacing the audio with the sound of an ice cream truck. That version made it look like Harry was sprinting to catch the ice cream van, and it racked up more than 17 million views.

How It Spread

The meme sat relatively dormant for five years until March 28, 2018, when Twitter user @_lvurenprice posted the clip with Ariana Grande's "I'm So Into You" dubbed over it, captioning it "everytime in G-A-Y smoking area," referencing the popular London nightclub. The post earned over 6,200 retweets and 21,000 likes in just over a week.

That tweet cracked the format wide open. Over the following days, Twitter users competed to find the best song pairing. On March 31, @xxMERE set the clip to Beyoncé's "Formation" with the caption "When you in the club chilling & Formation come on," pulling in 4,200 retweets and 10,000 likes. The same day, @aDopamineFiend paired it with Juvenile's "Back That Azz Up," which became the biggest single version with over 90,000 retweets and 177,000 likes. The next day, @iAmMvunny captioned "When Gasolina comes on in the club" with Daddy Yankee's track underneath, earning 77,000 retweets and 137,000 likes.

On April 5, 2018, Mashable ran a feature declaring Prince Harry "officially internet royalty," documenting the wave of club-song remixes and noting versions set to S Club 7's "Don't Stop Movin'" and other tracks.

The clip resurfaced again in March 2021 after Piers Morgan stormed off the set of Good Morning Britain during a heated segment about Harry and Meghan Markle's Oprah interview. British journalist Paul McNamara shared the Harry helicopter clip on Twitter, writing: "Some might argue, if you're going to walk out on a TV spot, there are better reasons to do it…" That post alone was watched more than 2.1 million times and retweeted over 12,300 times, as users drew a pointed contrast between Morgan's tantrum and Harry's military duty.

Media

How to Use This Meme

The format follows a simple template:

Write a caption describing being somewhere relaxed (a club, a party, a bar) and hearing a specific song start playing

Attach the Prince Harry helicopter clip with the original audio replaced by the named song

The joke lands because Harry's sudden, no-nonsense sprint mirrors the universal instinct to abandon everything when your song comes on

Cultural Impact

The meme arrived during a period of intense public interest in Prince Harry, just weeks before his May 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle. The French edition of HuffPost called it "a beautiful wedding gift from the internet to Meghan Markle's future husband" (translated from French).

The clip's virality also drew attention to Harry's military background. His first deployment to Helmand province in 2007-2008 had been conducted under a media blackout, cut short after an Australian magazine revealed his location. His second deployment from 2012 to 2013 took the opposite approach, with the British military granting nearly unlimited media access, turning his service into what one academic paper described as "an effective reality TV show and viral internet sensation". Harry left the army in June 2015.

The meme's 2021 resurgence proved it had legs beyond comedy. When Piers Morgan quit Good Morning Britain after dismissing Meghan Markle's mental health claims, the clip became political commentary. Morgan's walkoff generated the most complaints of any UK television broadcast in recent history, and the Harry clip circulating alongside it underscored the contrast between the two men's reasons for leaving on-air moments.

Fun Facts

Harry's military callsign was "Captain Wales," not Captain Windsor or Captain Sussex.

The ice cream truck remix from 2013 has more views (17 million+) than any of the 2018 club song versions that actually made the meme go mainstream.

The original interview was a dual production between CNN and ABC News, filmed at Camp Bastion in Helmand province.

The clip sat largely untouched for five years between the 2013 ice cream truck remix and the 2018 Twitter explosion.

The "Back That Azz Up" version alone generated nearly twice the engagement of the "Gasolina" version, despite both going viral within 24 hours of each other.

Derivatives & Variations

Ice Cream Truck Version

— The first remix, posted January 23, 2013 by producertom85, replaced the audio with ice cream truck jingles and became the most-viewed version at 17 million+ views[4].

"Back That Azz Up" Version

— @aDopamineFiend's Juvenile-dubbed version became the single biggest iteration of the meme format with 90,000 retweets and 177,000 likes[4].

"Gasolina" Version

— @iAmMvunny's Daddy Yankee version hit 77,000 retweets, became one of the defining examples of the format[5].

"Mr. Brightside" Version

— Among the many club-song versions that circulated during the April 2018 wave[3].

Piers Morgan Contrast Meme

— In 2021, users shared the Harry clip directly alongside footage of Morgan's GMB walkoff as a comparison meme[1].

Frequently Asked Questions

References (6)