After attending the 2013 Purple Heart Warrior Games, Prince Harry was inspired to create the Invictus Games
Credit: Sgt. Shawn White/U.S. Air Force/Mega
NEED TO KNOW
- Prince Harry attended the Purple Heart Warrior Games in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday, June 14
- At the event, which celebrates wounded service members competing in adaptive sports, the Duke of Sussex served BBQ to the patrons
- Harry’s visit coincided with King Charles’ Trooping the Colour birthday celebration on Saturday, June 13, in London
Prince Harry attended the Purple Heart Warrior Games, which celebrate wounded and injured service members competing in elite adaptive sports.
The Duke of Sussex, 41, was photographed with the participants at the San Antonio, Texas, event on Sunday, June 14. There, the Duke was seen smiling alongside an Army veteran and conversing with several other veterans. He was photographed shaking hands and chatting with a wheelchair user, and smiling widely as he greeted a service dog.
The U.S. Department of Defense's adaptive sports tournament, which runs June 13–20, began in 2010.
It is a "powerful demonstration of resilience, recovery, and the unbreakable spirit of our wounded, ill, and injured service members, veterans, and their families," according to the official site. The former British Army major was inspired to create the Invictus Games after attending the event in 2013.
Credit: Sgt. Shawn White/U.S. Air Force/Mega
The same day, Harry was seen serving BBQ with United Airlines on the sidelines of the Warrior Games, in an Instagram video posted by military charity Fisher House Foundation.
"A special lunch came with a special surprise today. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, joined the Warrior Games Family Program serving up bbq cooked up by the @united airlines bbq team to families competitors and staff," the post's caption read.
Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty
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His Sunday, June 14, appearance came after he was spotted at Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks in San Antonio on Saturday, June 13. He attended the game with U.S. Army veteran and Warrior Games athlete JP Lane.
Harry has credited Lane with inspiring him to create Invictus Games for wounded, injured and sick military service personnel from around the world — and Lane will compete in Invictus in the U.K. next year.
Harry's time in Texas was the same weekend the British royal family came together to celebrate King Charles' official birthday, marked by the Trooping the Colour parade in London on Saturday, June 13.
The King, 77, was joined by family members — including his wife, Queen Camilla, his eldest son and heir, Prince William, who rode horseback in the parade, as well as Kate Middleton and children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — as they watched the Royal Air Force perform a ceremonial flypast.
Harry, who relocated to California with wife Meghan Markle in 2020, was not expected to be in attendance.
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