Prince Harry
His Invictus family is closer to him than William and Co.
© dpa | Rolf Vennenbernd / Picture Alliance
An emotional journey is coming to an end for Prince Harry: from September 9th to 16th, 2023, he hosted the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf and also celebrated his 39th birthday here. Days that the royal will not soon forget.
While Prince Harry, 39, has lost more and more of the Royal Family in recent years, his “extended family”, the Invictus community, has grown a little closer to him every day. How much has become clear in Düsseldorf over the past few days: GALA accompanied the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, 42, in Germany and observed how comfortable Prince Harry feels around the disabled soldiers.
Prince Harry’s birthday is ignored by the Royal Family
No comparison to the Harry we saw at the coronation of King Charles, 74, in Great Britain in May this year. Too much has now happened between him and his father, Harry has grown too distant from his older brother Prince William, 41, and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, 41. The ribbon is cut, Harry and Meghan are also to blame. Both sides have apparently done things that are (still) unforgivable. While Harry and Meghan have publicly expressed their disappointment several times, the British royal family has remained silent about the allegations. Actions still let Charles and Co. speak: It was the first time that the royals’ official social media accounts ignored Prince Harry’s birthday on September 15, 2023. No public congratulations, no photos, nothing.
A deafening silence that must have struck Harry. He was once again welcomed by his Invictus family, who surprised him on his special day with several birthday serenades and a fancy birthday cake. Although the prince was visibly uncomfortable with being placed in even more focus during the games, he clearly enjoyed the loving gestures, as GALA noticed from the sidelines. And Meghan also watched her happy husband from a distance, touched.
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To make his birthday perfect, Prince Harry also invited two of his closest friends to Germany: Nicky Scottand Misan Harriman, 46, a photographer who has captured many important milestones in the Sussex family’s life over the past few years. Harriman also photographed his friend on Harry’s special day – and couldn’t resist taking a small swipe at the royal family in four of the photos taken that day. “The Duke spent his birthday with his extended family, the Invictus family,” the photographer wrote on Instagram. If Harry’s relatives don’t care about him, then his friends and confidants will, is Harriman’s subtle message.
What Harry wants from his family
And Prince Harry also made a comment in his eight-minute speech at the closing ceremony on Saturday evening, September 16th, which could well be interpreted as a dig at his royal relatives. After Harry told the moving story of Lance Corporal James Gendron from the Canadian team, moving the entire Merkur Spiel-Arena to tears, he said to James: “You showed us how important it is not to judge people by guessing their background or past pain, but by their abilities, how they show up, and who they are in the present.”
Values that Harry also wanted from his family when he got to know and love Meghan Markle. It was the lack of understanding and support from King Charles and Prince William that forced Harry and Meghan to radically withdraw from the royal family in January 2020 and that continues to cause a rift within the family to this day.
“After this week, you should know that you are all leading the way in defining human potential and human decency,” the 39-year-old added afterwards, once again making it clear how much he feels for the 500-plus Soldiers can identify. And how much he admires them. In complete contrast to his royal relatives…