As more than 500 competitors from 20 countries gather in Vancouver and Whistler for the 2025 Invictus Games, Prince Harry is reflecting on the tournament’s deep personal meaning—not just for the athletes, but for his own children.
Speaking about his five-year-old son Archie, the Duke of Sussex shared how a simple question about landmines led to an unexpected conversation about his late mother, Princess Diana.
“Kids always ask the right questions,” he said. “So you either shut it down straight away, which I will never do, or you engage in the conversation and try to explain things.”
Archie had seen photos and videos of Diana’s 1997 visit to Angola, where she famously walked through a minefield to raise awareness about the dangers of unexploded ordnance. The moment sparked a discussion that Harry hadn’t anticipated.
“It produced a very interesting conversation between me and him—different from what I thought it was going to be,” he said.
Diana’s humanitarian work on landmines became one of the most iconic moments of her legacy. Her efforts played a crucial role in the global campaign to ban the devices, which had contaminated towns and villages in war-torn countries like Angola. Now, decades later, her grandson is learning about that legacy firsthand.
For Harry and his wife Meghan, Canada holds a unique significance. The couple first went public with their relationship at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, where Meghan was filming Suits.
“Canada has been really, really good to my wife over all these years, and it’s been really good to us as well,” Harry said.
Following their decision to step back from royal duties in 2020, the couple spent over six weeks on Vancouver Island, enjoying the privacy and tranquility of the area.
“It was amazing to be able to be in Canada with Archie, to go for hikes and feel protected,” Harry said. “Nobody told anybody. I guess they told other people, but there wasn’t this media or paparazzi culture. There was a sense of respect.”
For the first time, the Invictus Games are featuring winter sports, with competitions hosted on the lands of four First Nations—Squamish, Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Lil’wat.
The Games’ medals, designed by Indigenous artist Levi Nelson, reflect this cultural connection. Harry, who has taken courses on First Nations and reconciliation, says he has also learned directly from Indigenous leaders.
“The connection to nature is what’s keeping them going,” he said. “They must look at us and go, ‘What are you guys doing?’”
During his Opening Ceremony speech, Harry expressed his gratitude to the First Nations for welcoming the Games onto their land.
For athlete and veteran Mark Beare, the Invictus Games offer more than competition—they provide a space for healing.
A former logistics officer in the Canadian Army, Beare served in Afghanistan, helped with the Assiniboine River floods in Manitoba, and worked security at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Over time, the weight of hearing soldiers’ stories of trauma and grief took its toll.
“Towards the end of my career, I was diagnosed with PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder,” Beare shared. “It really rocked me. I felt like I was broken and that I had failed.”
For years, he kept his diagnosis private. It wasn’t until last year, when his family asked why he was competing in the Invictus Games, that he finally opened up.
“It became a conversation starter for me, and that has been incredibly powerful,” he said. “It wasn’t that I was looking for any type of reaction, just the ability to share and not feel like I’m carrying this around all by myself.”
Harry, who served in Afghanistan before leaving the British military in 2015, understands the struggles faced by wounded veterans. It was one of the driving forces behind his decision to launch the Invictus Games more than a decade ago.
“I wish we weren’t in this position 10 years later, where so many people still need the Games,” he said. “Some of these people I met 10 years ago, and they’re back again—either as a competitor or as part of the training staff. The amount of growth and healing that you witness is quite extraordinary.”
With the world facing ongoing conflicts, including in Ukraine, the need for the Invictus Games remains as urgent as ever. Ukrainian servicemen and women are among this year’s competitors, highlighting the event’s continued relevance in helping soldiers recover from the physical and emotional wounds of war.
As the Games look ahead to their next edition in Birmingham in 2027, Harry says each host nation strives to elevate the experience.
“What makes this so special is that everyone tries to beat the previous host nation,” he said. “Not necessarily by size or scale, but by how the experience plays out for these guys, girls, and families.”
This year’s opening ceremony featured performances by stars like Chris Martin, Katy Perry, and Noah Kahan, while the closing ceremony will include the Barenaked Ladies and American rapper Jelly Roll.
One moment that left fans guessing was whether Harry actually got an Invictus tattoo from Jelly Roll.
“That didn’t actually happen,” he laughed. “I enjoy having people guessing for quite a long time about it.”
Despite the star power at the Games, Harry insists that the focus remains on the athletes.
“There are so many people out there who would charge for their time,” he said. “But so many of these individuals love and respect this group of people so much that they will move heaven and earth to be here to support them.”
And while he lets each host country take the lead on organizing entertainment, he joked, “Otherwise, it would just be my taste in music every single time.”
More than a decade after founding the Invictus Games, Prince Harry remains committed to its mission—offering a platform for healing, strength, and resilience.
His mother’s legacy continues to inspire his work, and now, through his conversations with Archie and Lilibet, that legacy is being passed to the next generation.
Through the Invictus Games, Harry is not only helping wounded soldiers reclaim their lives—he’s also ensuring that the lessons of compassion, service, and perseverance endure for years to come.