Prince Harry arrives in Toronto for Invictus Games launch ceremony
Posted May 2, 2016 04:00:03 AM.
Last Updated May 2, 2016 08:58:42 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO – Prince Harry will be joined by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Toronto today for events marking the countdown to the 2017 Invictus Games.
Harry is set to address servicemen and servicewomen, veterans and their families during a launch ceremony at the Farimont Royal York Hotel.
He will later attend a sledge hockey exhibition game, along with Trudeau, at Ryerson University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.
The prince will also have a private afternoon meeting with Ontario Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell.
The 31-year-old royal founded the sporting competition for wounded, injured and sick troops.
The Invictus Games also includes current and veteran members of the forces, and aims to use sport to inspire recovery and draw awareness to the physical and psychological injuries suffered by service members.
Harry founded the Games after a 2013 visit to the U.S.-based Warrior Games, a domestic sporting competition for ill and injured American service members and veterans.
He sought to establish an expanded version of the event, which led to the creation of the Invictus Games, named after the Latin word for “unconquered.”
The Games were first held in London in 2014 and involved more than 400 competitors from 13 countries.
The Toronto Games, set for September 2017, are slated to feature more competitors and more sports than the event has had before.
After Harry’s Toronto visit, he will be heading south to Orlando, Fla., where this year’s Invictus Games will be held.
Harry recent shared a moment of onscreen levity with his grandmother the Queen, U.S. President Barack Obama, and his wife, Michelle, to promote the 2016 Games.
The video starts with Harry and the monarch looking at an Invictus brochure when they receive a video phone message from Michelle Obama.
The clip shows the Obamas accepting Harry’s challenge to the Invictus Games, with a man in uniform behind them saying “Boom!” and mimicking the motion of a microphone dropping to the floor.
The bemused Queen looks at Harry and says: “Boom. Really? Please.” Harry then says “Boom!” with a grin to the camera, while demonstrating a mic drop of his own.
