Here are some photos of Prince Harry in Whistler for Wednesday’s Invictus events. Harry was cheering on the competitors and he did at least one medal ceremony, and posed with the medalists afterwards. Judging solely from the photos, it looks like everyone is having a blast. Invictus’s first “winter games” has been very popular with the veterans and the families, although I do wonder if anyone has busted their ass on all of the ice and snow. Anyway, Harry gave an exclusive interview to People Magazine at the games. Some highlights, directly from Harry (and please keep this interview in mind whenever you guys complain about how we can’t take People’s royal coverage seriously – Harry literally gives exclusives to People).
Harry loves Canada: “It’s incredible to be back in Canada. Canada couldn’t be more appropriate to host the first Winter Games. Everyone is so excited.”
He loved having Meghan with him for the first four days or so: “To have my wife here supporting me is amazing. I love that she’s by my side,” Prince Harry tells PEOPLE. “It’s such an important piece to this whole adventure.”
He’s already looking ahead to the next tournament in Birmingham, England, in 2027. “It’s amazing how, after 10 years, we’re still doing this. We will continue the Games for as long as it’s needed — and the need is increasing rather than reducing. So the fact that there will be a full cycle back to the U.K. is a place that I never thought we would be. I wish that we could close this down because there wasn’t a need for it, but as long as there’s a need for it, we will keep it going. I know the U.K. is looking forward to having the Games back to where it started.”
Whether they’ll do another winter games: “I’ve already had lots of people come up to me and ask whether there’s going to be a continuous cycle of Winter Games, and the answer to that is, we’ll have to wait and see! But everyone is very happy to be here.”
The Opening Ceremony in Vancouver: “What a way to start — a sold-out stadium in front of 40,000 people. It had a very Olympic, Paralympic feel to it. It was great.”
His kids love learning about Invictus: “They are fascinated. It’s a very interesting conversation to have with your kids — to explain why that person is missing a leg, why that person is missing an arm, why do they look the way they do. It’s challenging but important. Our kids are still so young, but Archie, especially, is asking those questions,” Harry, a former captain in the British Army, says of his son. “As any parent knows, once you open that door and those questions are asked, or that conversation starts, more and more doors start opening. And then he starts asking, ‘How did they get injured? What’s a mine? What’s all this?’ It becomes opening Pandora’s box, to some extent, especially with kids this age, because they have no filter, and they’re just so curious and so inquisitive!” the Duke of Sussex says. “They want to know more, more, more.”
He tries talking about those topics in an age-appropriate way. “I’m constantly trying to make sure that I get it right, in explaining what’s happened to [the competitors], and what we do at Invictus to try to make their lives better and give them a chance to redefine themselves. And the power of sport,” Harry says, expressing his hope that his children will also find joy in athletics. “I’m hoping that my kids will take on every sport that they want as well, because I think it’s really important for all of us.”
He plans to tell the kids all about the winter games: “I’m going to tell them all the stories. After we came back from Düsseldorf [for the 2023 Invictus Games] a year and a half ago, I sat down and went through lots of photographs that I had. They were fascinated to see these guys, careering around the field in wheelchairs, playing basketball, wheelchair rugby, sitting volleyball, everything.”
I love that he describes Archie and Lilibet as so curious about Invictus, and I’m sure they are – and it makes me wonder why Harry and Meghan didn’t just bring the kids to Canada. I’m not saying that Archie and Lili should have been front and center for all of the events, but let them come to the Opening Ceremony? Still, I understand why Harry & Meghan didn’t bring the kids. People have been obsessed with seeing those two ginger babies for years, and there’s a lot of lunacy around all of it. That will become one of the next storylines too – “will the Sussexes bring their kids to the UK for the Birmingham games?” I hope not, but it’s a long way away (July 2027).
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.
