Appearing in the BBC studio during this evening’s airing of the Invictus Games, Prince Harry admitted he probably wouldn’t have founded the Invictus Games if he didn’t undertake his tours of Afghanistan.
The Prince was asked questions that had been sent in by the public regarding the games, between coverage of games.
“Do you think you would have championed the Invictus Games had you not served yourself?” came the question.
Prince Harry answered viewers’ questions about the Invictus Games (BBC still)
“No, probably not,” Harry said. “I would never have had that moment when I flew back from Afghanistan in 08, 09 or whenever it was, and was confronted with […] three British soldiers, all in induced comas with missing limbs, wrapped in plastic. I would have never had that experience, I never would have seen that, I never would have felt it.”
He admitted he had been nosey on the journey, and stuck his head through the curtain sectioning off the medical bay.
“So I think serving gave me a profound understanding of what service and duty and sacrifice mean. So thanks to my service, I think my life definitely changed for the better.”
The former army captain was asked about the future of the competition, and where he would like to see the games go. “For us, it is not necessarily about growth, as long as it’s achieving its goal. In many cases the main effort [is] that we get the hardest to reach people,” Harry said. “But it’s the ones who are finding it really hard to leave the house. Those are the people I really want to get coming to the games.”
prince harry speaks on bbc one about the invictus games
“It’s their family and friends as well,” he said of the impact. “The effect is not just one individual. This ripple effect is huge.”
The Prince also called the games his ‘fix’ of military life once more, and explained that he gets a buzz out of it.
Harry’s TV stint came during the BBC’s screening of the day’s events, and after he appeared at the wheelchair tennis match with girlfriend, Meghan Markle – the couple’s first public appearance together.
Watch the interview below:
Prince Harry says the #InvictusGames have changed his life #bbcinvictus pic.twitter.com/hmyvHocNEQ
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 25, 2017
