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Prince Harry has one more gift to give son Prince Archie – model Transformers toys of Megatron and Optimus Prime.
Invictus Games athlete Michael Harrold told HELLO! that during a breakfast meeting Harry and wife Meghan attended earlier in the Games, he was given the opportunity to hand over the gifts from his young son to Archie, five.
“I asked him what his best dad joke was, and then I gave him Optimus Prime, and Megatron, two toys from my son to his son,” Michael shared.
Michael also revealed Prince Harry’s favorite dad joke – “what’s the difference between snowmen and snowwomen? Snowballs,” – and shared the joke his son had created himself when he was eight, which got Harry laughing.
“I told him the one my son made up, which is, ‘What did the little chicken say to the big bully chicken? Peck on someone your own size’.”
© Samir Hussein/WireImageMichael, along with competitors Ashley Christman, and Jacquelin Marty, spoke to HELLO! after they competed on day seven at the UBC Aquatics Centre.
They met Harry at the center, and took a picture with the US flag, which Harry had also signed on the request of their teammate Bianca.
“We’ve all been signing her flag for her and she thought it’d be great to have Prince Harry sign it, and he was OK to do it,” shared Jacquelin, who joked: “Well, he was OK to do it until everybody started looking over his shoulder and then I think he felt the pressure of making sure he spells his name correctly.”
© Getty Images for Invictus GamesJacquelin was in the Air Force and has a brain injury; she is taking part in alpine skiing, skeleton, swimming and rowing.
“I feel like it’s given me a purpose,” she says of the Game, created by Harry in 2014.
“Training and getting to know my teammates and challenging each other, whether we’re doing it online or at our training camps, it’s been really inspiring.”
“But what I didn’t realize until recently is that we are on the forefront of winter games, and how this can be a stepping stone for some Paralympic activities that are otherwise unheard of,” she continued.
“At the Paralympic level, we don’t have amputee categories at skeleton and we don’t have blind snowboarding. By introducing all these countries to skeleton and to other sports that maybe they would not otherwise have had the opportunity to do, we can bring more attention to the sports, move it up to the World Cup level and eventually hopefully the Winter Olympics in 2034 at Park City, Utah.”
Ashley added that getting the opportunity to share their stories with Harry was wonderful but that it has been hard to “really put it into words” how much the Games have changed their lives.
“[He’s the] driver to a sense of belonging and something to work toward that is bigger than yourself. It’s so beautiful.”
Invictus Games: a quick guide
© Getty Images for Invictus GamesWhat is it?
A multisport international event for wounded, injured and sick military personnel, both current and former, which aims to aid recovery and adaptation to a new way of life.
Who founded it?
Prince Harry founded the event, inspired by the rehabilitative impact of the Warrior Games in the US
When did it start?
The biannual event was first held in London in 2014 and five more editions followed: Orlando 2016, Toronto 2017, Sydney 2018, The Hague 2020 and Dusseldorf 2023.
Where and when is the 2025 event being held?
Whistler and Vancouver, British Columbia Canada, 8–16th February.
How many people are competing this year?
Around 550 serving and forming serving military personnel from up to 25 nations.
Which sports are played?
The core sports are swimming, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, indoor rowing, and sitting volleyball, but the 2025 edition features winter adaptive sports for the first time including alpine skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, Nordic skiing, skeleton, and wheelchair curling.
How can you watch?
The Invictus Games will be broadcast live from the organization’s official website and YouTube channel. It will also be available on ITVX in the UK and TSN in Canada.
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