For ten years, the Duke of Sussex has cheered on and celebrated over thousands of wounded veterans at his Invictus Games – and for the last seven has done so with his wife, the Duchess of Sussex.
Launched in 2014 to help veterans from around the world after the end of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, the Games have grown to welcome 23 nations and run over nine days with 11 sports, and in the years since Harry and Meghan stepped down from being working royals, the two have forged an "unbreakable bond" with competitors and their friends and family, and that was on show during the 2025 Games.
The Prince, in particular, was accessible to almost anyone and everyone when he made occasional appearances during his ten days in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada. Yes he had two bodyguards, and a gaggle of PR and operations people around him, but it was clear that everyone felt like he was their friend, with no fear of walking up to him to say hello, asking for a selfie, introducing their service dogs, or sharing their own stories.
© Invictus Games Foundation via Ge"Harry has experienced what we've experienced, and there's an understanding and it's an unbreakable bond between us," Team UK competitor Jules Bale told HELLO!
Jules was a flight nurse in the RAF before she transferred to the army; she was injured in Kenya and has been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, short term memory loss and PTSD. She is mum to 10-year-old Sophie and they have been supported on this journey by the Royal British Legion.
© Jules Bail/HELLO!Jules unexpectedly met Harry and Meghan ahead of the Opening Ceremony when "the lift doors opened and Harry and Meghan walked out – and Meghan made a beeline straight to me".
"She walked directly over to me and hugged me and it was my first time meeting her but it was like she knew you, as if you were meeting a friend," said Jules.
"She gave me a real squeezy hug and in that moment you just knew that there is nothing false about her."
© WireImageClare Price's husband Mac MacLaren is also a member of Team UK, and Clare has been front row cheering on her husband all week.
She sat alongside the Duke at wheelchair rugby and again at the sitting volleyball, and told HELLO! that she "gave him a bit of stick" because he wasn't cheering on Team UK; they were playing Team Nigeria and she said he remained neutral.
Royal protocol may often encourage someone to not give stick to a Prince, but for Clare, Harry made her feel comfortable enough that she could do that while also being able to "thank him for opening the door for these guys".
© PA Images via Getty ImagesIt was Harry who, in 2014, encouraged Mac himself to have a go at the Games, and "when the boss says to you to do something, you do it," joked Mac.
"It's absolutely changed my life. He said in the opening ceremony that it's us that achieve it, but I disagree with that because if he hadn't given us this platform, we wouldn't be able to step forward. I can't thank him enough for that, and the help of the Royal British Legion to come to the Games."
The Invictus Games has also "made a lot of things easier" for Mac's stepson Sam Price, who said that the Games had "supported" him this past week, and become a "game changer" for his own life.
© Invictus Games Foundation via GeThe easiest comparison for the Invictus Games would be the Olympics, where nations compete against each other for gold, silver and bronze medals. But it's almost impossible to put into words the spirit of the Invictus Games, and exactly what this means to these men and women.
Community, family, redemption, supportive and inspiring are some of the words that come up again and again when you're at the Games but perhaps the best way to describe it is not with words but with a picture: At the UBC Aquatics Centre, one competitor swam back down their lane – after finishing – to encourage and cheer on a competitor from another nation who would be coming in last place.
© Invictus Games Foundation via GeThat feeling of unity can be seen over and over again at the Invictus Games, and is one that Richie McCaw, the former All Blacks rugby captain told HELLO! is all down to Harry.
"Harry's a big reason why the Games are the way they are, and it is nice to see how passionate he is about it, how he makes every single one of those guys and girls feel," said Richie.
"He made the comment that it's not so much what happens now, it's what it does for people going forward, and when people decide that they have something to aim for and then come and do it, it's pretty inspiring."
© PA Images via Getty ImagesAs Harry referenced in his closing speech at the Games: "More than a decade later. In a world still full of strife and trauma. And as much as we wish these Games weren’t necessary, I understand why they are still needed, perhaps more than ever."
"[Harry is the] driver to a sense of belonging and something to work toward that is bigger than yourself. It's so beautiful," said Team USA athlete Ashley Christman, who met the Duke at a welcome breakfast and again when he cheered on the nation at the swimming center.
© Invictus Games Foundation via GeThe Games may have been Harry's creation but Meghan, who left after the first five days to return home to their two children as planned, has also become an important part of the Invictus family.
Meghan engaged in several breakfasts with friends and family, took selfies, gifted one competitor her $680 Montclair gloves, and was often spotted talking to young boys and girls and discussing their personal experiences of the Games.
© Invictus Games Foundation via GeHarry and Meghan's son and daughter, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, will be eight and six respectively by the time of 2027 Games and their attendance – something Harry has expressed a desire to see – would solidify the spirit of family.
However, 2027 will see the Games return to the UK for the first time since their inception in 2014, and Harry is currently appealing a High Court decision over the degree of taxpayer-funded protection he and his family should receive when in the Prince's home country, insisting that his family is unsafe in the UK.
© Shutterstock"The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the US. That cannot happen if it’s not possible to keep them safe when they are on UK soil," Harry said in a witness statement during the appeal.
"I cannot put my wife in danger like that and, given my experiences in life, I am reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm's way too."
The Duke's speech at the 2025 closing ceremony put a focus on the friends and family of the competitors, and the hope for the hundreds of competitors, and their friends and family, is that come 2027 Harry and Meghan – and their family – will be in attendance.
As Harry concluded, "bring on Invictus Birmingham 2027," in his speech, it certainly seems it may become a full circle moment for the Duke.
