Prince Harry is beaming as he takes in the energy of the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, the latest chapter of the international adaptive sports tournament he founded in 2014 to support wounded, injured and sick service members and veterans.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE in Vancouver on Feb. 9, he shares his excitement.
“It’s incredible to be back in Canada. Canada couldn’t be more appropriate to host the first Winter Games. Everyone is so excited,” the Duke of Sussex says.
Prince Harry, 40, has reason to feel at home. This is the first country to host the Invictus Games twice, following Toronto in 2017 — where he and wife Meghan Markle made their first public appearance as a couple. It’s also where they briefly lived after stepping back from their royal roles in 2020.
Now, seven years later, Meghan, 43, is once again beside him, offering unwavering support for the cause that means so much to him.
“To have my wife here supporting me is amazing. I love that she’s by my side,” Prince Harry tells PEOPLE. “It’s such an important piece to this whole adventure.”
The couple’s connection has been evident throughout the Games, from Meghan resting her head on Harry’s shoulder to stealing kisses in the stands.
“It is full of positivity,” a friend of the couple says. “Harry is walking around with a big smile on his face, and he can’t go very far without being stopped every few seconds. But that’s what it’s all about.”
Competitors echo that sentiment. “He came up, gave me a hug, got a cheeky selfie. We were both in Afghanistan in 2008, so we had that connection there,” Christopher Bryde of Team U.S. tells PEOPLE of meeting Harry. “It’s like you met someone down at the pub — he’s a really cool guy.”
Jeana Provias of Team Canada describes the Duke of Sussex as “very intense and purposeful”: “When he shakes your hand, he looks into your face like he wants to imprint your face in his mind. You can feel he’s an outstanding leader. I feel like he’s our hero.”
Harry, a former captain in the British Army and the Games’ Founding Patron, is already looking ahead to the next tournament in Birmingham, England, in 2027.
“It’s amazing how, after 10 years, we’re still doing this. We will continue the Games for as long as it’s needed — and the need is increasing rather than reducing. So the fact that there will be a full cycle back to the U.K. is a place that I never thought we would be,” he tells PEOPLE.
“I wish that we could close this down because there wasn’t a need for it, but as long as there’s a need for it, we will keep it going,” he says. “I know the U.K. is looking forward to having the Games back to where it started.”
Of the future of Invictus, Harry adds, “I’ve already had lots of people come up to me and ask whether there’s going to be a continuous cycle of Winter Games, and the answer to that is, we’ll have to wait and see! But everyone is very happy to be here.”
That energy was felt during the star-studded Opening Ceremony at BC Place in Downtown Vancouver on Feb. 8, which featured heartfelt tributes to several athletes and performances by Katy Perry, Nelly Furtado, Noah Kahan, Roxane Bruneau and Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
“What a way to start — a sold-out stadium in front of 40,000 people. It had a very Olympic, Paralympic feel to it. It was great,” he says.
Harry will return home to Montecito, Caifornia, ready to share the experience with his children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.
“They are fascinated,” Harry says. “It’s a very interesting conversation to have with your kids — to explain why that person is missing a leg, why that person is missing an arm, why do they look the way they do. It’s challenging but important.”
With each Invictus Games, Harry hopes to inspire not only the competitors but also the next generation.
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“Our kids are still so young, but Archie especially is asking those questions,” he says. “I’m constantly trying to make sure that I get it right in explaining what’s happened to [the competitors] and what we do at Invictus to try to make their lives better and give them a chance to redefine themselves.”
“And the power of sport,” he continues. “I’m hoping that my kids will take on every sport they want as well, because I think it’s really important for all of us.”
For more on Prince Harry and the Invictus Games, pick up PEOPLE‘s latest issue, on newsstands Friday.
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