The Duke of Sussex has urged military veterans to “offer support for one another” amid the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.
Prince Harry, 36, issued a joint statement on Monday in his role as patron of the Invictus Games Foundation, which helps soldiers through their recovery via international sports competitions.
The Duke served in the Army for ten years, during which time he carried out two frontline tours of Afghanistan.
The statement from Harry, Lord Allen of Kensington CBE, Chair of the Games and Dominic Reid OBE, CEO of the Games, read: “What’s happening in Afghanistan resonates across the international Invictus community.
“Many of the participating nations and competitors in the Invictus Games family are bound by a shared experience of serving in Afghanistan over the past two decades, and for several years, we have competed alongside Invictus Games Team Afghanistan.
“We encourage everybody across the Invictus network – and the wider military community – to reach out to each other and offer support for one another.”
Harry, who now lives in the US with his wife Meghan and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, founded the Invictus Games in 2014 – an international adaptive multi-sport event in which wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and veterans participate.
It celebrates the power of sport in recovery and how it can help, physically or psychologically, those suffering from injuries or illness.
The first event took place in London and since then has been held in Orlando in 2016, Toronto in 2017 and Sydney in 2018.
The Games had been due to take place in The Hague in May 2020 but have been postponed twice due to the pandemic. It will now take place in the spring of 2022.
