Prince Harry has called for Britain to show more “national resilience” at an event in Birmingham to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games in the city.
Prince Harry has called for Britain to develop more “national resilience”.
The Duke of Sussex spoke out at an event in Birmingham to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games – the multi-sport event he established for wounded military service personnel – and suggested that others could learn from the attitude of the participants.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning on Friday (10.07.26), Harry – who stood down as working member of the royal family in 2020 before relocating to California with his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex – said: “I think that when you’re really up against it, how you decide to use that trauma, that experience or that loss, how you use that to really grow that resilience in yourself – I think that’s where people can connect to it.
“And now, more than ever, we need to grow the national resilience here in the UK, but also around the world.”
Harry, 41, also hastily corrected himself after he referred to England’s FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Norway on Saturday (11.07.26) as a “soccer” match.
When This Morning presenter Alison Hammond invited him to her Birmingham home for Jamaican food, the prince replied: “And some soccer as well? Some football, sorry. Football, not soccer.”
Harry – who attended the engagement without Meghan or their children Prince Archie, seven, or Princess Lilibet, five, – closed proceedings with a speech where he described how it was “incredibly special” to see the Invictus Games return to the UK for the first time since the inaugural event in London in 2014.
He said: “Not just because this is where the Invictus journey first began, but because Britain has always understood the importance of service, resilience, and standing together when it matters most.”
Harry also joked about the years that have passed since the first event.
The Duke of Sussex quipped: “What has struck me walking around the arena today is just how many faces I recognise from those different groups that were part of that original journey back in 2014.
“Some of us have lost our hair.”
Invictus Games Birmingham CEO Helen Helliwell said it had been “fantastic” to spend time with Harry.
She said: “We are super excited to have him. He’s not only the patron of the foundation, but he’s the founder of the Invictus Games, and he always brings sparkle and magic.
“He’s a massive supporter of the armed forces community, and it’s always fantastic having him here. The wounded and sick, and the friends and the family, always love having him here.
“He loves it too. It is really personal to him. It’s really special.”
Prince Harry wants Britain to develop more ‘national resilience’
