Prince Harry brings a “unique perspective” to the Invictus Video games and “genuinely” desires to assist lively navy personnel and veterans of their restoration course of, in accordance with a longtime companion of the occasion.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, is at present braving the chilly climate in Vancouver and Whistler in Canada the place the 2025 Invictus Video games are happening.
It’s no secret that Harry — who give up royal life in 2020 and moved to the US along with his spouse, Meghan Markle — has performed an lively function in aiding previous and current lively obligation officers following their service.
And in accordance with Ken Fisher, founding father of the Fisher Home Basis — a longtime companion of the Invictus Video games — the duke takes a really hands-on strategy on the subject of his work with the Video games.
“Harry is a very genuine person that really wants to play a role in these men and women’s recoveries,” Fisher completely instructed The Submit. “This is a man that never forgot that he was a veteran and that these men and women are struggling.”
“He was in a very unique position to help these families rehab and continue with their journeys by inspiring them and sharing his time with them. It’s genuine, and I’ve seen it over many years and I think it’s a wonderful thing,” he added.
Harry based and launched the Invictus Video games in 2014 as multi-sport Paralympic-styled video games for wounded or injured servicemen and veterans.
And Fisher Home Basis — which gives consolation houses the place navy and veteran households can keep at freed from cost whereas a liked one is receiving remedy — has supported Harry’s ardour venture since its inception.
“Our partnership with the Invictus Games started when Prince Harry came over to see the Warrior Games in Colorado back in 2013 and he loved what he saw,” Fisher recalled. “He brings a unique perspective to what we do.”
“We got involved very early on, the first games were 2014 in London, and then we brought the games to the US in 2016 we had them in Orlando, and I was chairman of those Games, and Fisher House played a major role as they continue to do.”
As for Harry, Fisher says that the duke’s earlier navy expertise is what makes the Video games so profitable and genuine.
“He is a two-tour combat veteran, so when Harry walks into the room, he walks in as a veteran so he brings that perspective to the interaction with families and they appreciate it very much, I know, I’ve seen the work that he does.”
Certainly, Harry, who was final 12 months named a “Living Legend” and inducted into the Aviation Corridor of Fame, has 10 years of navy expertise within the British Armed Forces beneath his belt.
He has additionally accomplished two excursions of Afghanistan the place he flew in fight missions as an Apache helicopter pilot and a ahead air controller.
An extended-term supporter of Harry’s Video games, Fisher Home Basis — which has already served greater than 530,000 households to this point — beforehand supported the 2022 Video games at The Hague and the 2023 Video games in Düsseldorf.
The group has additionally been a companion of Staff US for the reason that inaugural Invictus Video games in London again in 2014 — which final 12 months celebrated its tenth anniversary on Harry’s dwelling soil.
“Fisher House gets involved very early in the process,” the founder explains. “When a family gets that phone call that a loved one is wounded, sick or injured, they come from many miles away and Fisher House allows these families – both active duty and veterans – to be a part of the healing process by offering them lodging at no charge for as long as the hospital stay continues.”
The inspiration this 12 months is gearing as much as open its one centesimal home in June, which Fisher describes as a “very big milestone.”
“We are going to continue to sponsor the family and friends programs of the adaptive sporting events, but I think the most important thing is that Fisher House will always be there for the families because behind every man or woman that has worn uniform is a family that bears burdens and makes sacrifices that the average American won’t understand,” Fisher stated.
“That’s why Prince Harry’s experience is so important.”
The royal, who rose to the rank of Captain throughout his time within the navy, famously spoke of his time within the military in his protocol-shattering memoir, “Spare.”
