2023-09-17 14:05:44
Prince Harry delivered a vibrant speech on Saturday to close the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, in front of a conquered audience.
Prince Harry delivered a very moving speech on Saturday at the closing of the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, in front of a room full of enthusiastic veterans, where Meghan was also present. Beginning his speech in German, the prince quickly continued in English.
“This week is so much more than a sporting event. […] I’m sure you’re all physically exhausted, who wouldn’t be. But I also hope that you are mentally stronger than when you arrived.”
Prince Harry, very comfortable in front of this established audience, thanked the participants of the sports competition. “You opened people’s hearts with your vulnerability, your resilience, and with your abilities. You showed us that joy can emerge from difficulties. And for that, we are eternally grateful.”
“An example for us all”
“So many of you and those you love have been in the most difficult situations imaginable. But the way you have healed and matured is an example to us all.”
“You don’t need to rely on a uniform, and you should never feel lost without one,” he said, echoing his own case. Harry was in fact stripped of his military titles when he left the royal family to cease being an active member.
At the funeral of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022, he was only allowed to wear a uniform once, despite serving ten years in the military.
Then, very moved, he greeted Corporal James Gendron, member of the Canadian team, organizer of the next games and bagpipe player.
Sixty-three coffins
“While we were talking, I noticed some bagpipes lying on the floor in the corner,” Prince Harry said.
“Some people know what bagpipes mean to me, and I was hoping he would play them. When 30 minutes later James offered to play them, I had no idea what they meant to him. No more than I knew what memories they brought back to him. In Afghanistan, he played 63 times in front of 63 coffins, for 63 souls, for 63 families.”
The prince has finally made an appointment in 2025, for the next edition of the Invictus Games, which will be held in Vancouver.
These games, which were held for the first time in 2014 in London and which were inspired by the Paralympic Games, were launched at the initiative of the prince. Harry also made a documentary produced by Netflix, entitled Invictus Games: the medals of resilience.
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