Prince Harry speaks on stage during the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in Duesseldorf, Germany. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry speaks on stage during the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in Duesseldorf, Germany. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry appears to have made a subtle dig at the royal family during his closing speech at the Invictus Games.
Three years after he was stripped of his military titles following his and Meghan Markle’s resignations as working royals, the Duke of Sussex addressed veterans who competed in the Games, telling them they “should not feel lost without a uniform”.
The Daily Mail reported the prince said in the five-minute heartfelt speech that the veterans “don’t need to rely on a uniform” and should not “feel lost without one”, as Meghan watched on admirably from the crowd.
“A week ago, I stood here and told you about the significance of being able to wear your nation’s flag again. And so many of you have told me that that hit you right here [pointing at his chest].
“For many of you, the uniform you’ve been wearing this past week will give you a new story to tell. And for others, it may give your old uniform new meaning,” he said at the Games, which took place in Dusseldorf, Germany.
“But I’m here to remind you that after all this, you don’t need to rely on a uniform, nor should you ever feel lost without one.”
The UK news outlet reported Harry’s heartfelt comments were met with a round of applause from the crowd who were seemingly just as emotional as the prince.
Since leaving his duties as a working royal in 2020, the father of two — Lilibet, 3, and Archie, 1 — has not worn a uniform even at the most special of occasions including his grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September last year.
While King Charles and Prince William both wore uniforms, the estranged prince was seen wearing a suit.
During Harry’s closing speech at the Invictus Games — which he founded in 2014 to support injured veterans — he also touched on vulnerability and reiterated the importance of not judging people based on their past.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, at the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany. Photo / Getty Images
“Your mission to heal and grow has been a shining example to us all,” the duke said. “You have shown us the power of not defining people by assumption or their backstory or past pain, but rather instead on their ability, how they show up and who they are in the present.”
“After this week, know that you are all leading the way for defining human potential and human decency,” he said.
It comes after he celebrated his 39th birthday at the Games. Last week while he sat on the sidelines to watch Germany and Poland battle it out in volleyball, a massive crowd sang him Happy Birthday.
He and Meghan also drank beers earlier in the week with blood sausages and wiener schnitzel at a secret feast in Dusseldorf to mark his birthday.
A source told Hello! magazine the event was a “family meal”. Harry then returned to their €1600-a-night (NZ$2892) hotel to eat birthday cake.
