Prince Harry also showed GMA the Invictus ‘Winter Training Camp’ in Canada

Prince Harry knows – more than anyone else in the royal family – how to promote his projects and initiatives and the give-and-take that needs to take place. This is not the invisible contract between the royalist media and the Windsors – this is above-board publicity and mature comms training. Harry knew that he would have to give Good Morning America some quotes about his father and his family, and he did so knowing that it was the price to pay to have GMA give more time and attention to the Invictus Games. He was expecting the questions about his dad and he knew he wanted to keep it as vague and simple as possible. I think the questions about American citizenship caught him off-guard though, he wasn’t expecting that. Anyway, GMA split up their interview with Harry and here’s the second part, which is all about Invictus.

What I didn’t realize (before now) is that Invictus invited competitors from different countries to come to Whistler for this “One Year To Go” event so they could start to get comfortable in the conditions. They’re calling it the Winter Training Camp. That’s so cool. Watching Heart of Invictus, you can see how all of these veterans really take the training seriously, all while calling themselves competitors and not athletes. I appreciate Invictus’s holistic approach too – it’s not “great, you’ve been accepted as a competitor, now go and train for months and we’ll see you later.” There’s a whole Invictus system in place in every country, with group therapy and team-building exercises and monitoring of the veterans’ training and mental health. In HoI, I was so impressed with the small South Korean team in place, and the work the Dutch Invictus team did too. Honestly, it’s all so impressive. Also: this is doing amazing things for adaptive sports and visibility for disabled athletes.

People Mag spoke to Stefan Nommensen, the Dutch team’s “chef de mission.” He spoke glowingly about Invictus and what Harry has created, and he said Harry “is really the ambassador of the Invictus Games. The way he speaks, the way he acts, the way he is involved with the competitors — that’s great and very important for our competitors and staff but also their friends and family.”

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.

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28 Responses to “Prince Harry also showed GMA the Invictus ‘Winter Training Camp’ in Canada”

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  1. sevenblue says:

    I was wondering how they are gonna prepare for the competition in their countries specifically for the winter games part. It is cool they could bring the competitors to Canada to practice at the exact conditions.

  2. Harry doesn’t do anything half assed. He plunges in full throttle and learns what all is needed how he can get it done. He has the utmost respect for the veterans and their families. He truly is service is universal. This man has earned the respect he receives from everyone but his incredibly jealous family. Keep doing you Harry!!

    • Miranda says:

      All of this. I’m constantly impressed by Harry’s drive and dedication, and his passion is contagious. He throws himself into every project, and every project seems to becomes a wild success. And to think, he was always regarded as the “dumb one”, the Fredo of the family!

      (William is the real Fredo, obviously. You can even picture him doing the “I’M SMART AND I WANT RESPECT!” rant.)

    • SenseOfTheAbsurd says:

      He’s the only person in that family who has actually grown to adulthood. The rest, regardless of age, are operating on the level of spoiled toddlers. Clearly the only one with any brains, too.

  3. Libra says:

    Totally superficial observation; this guy is in great shape.

  4. Sue says:

    I always appreciate it when people who have no axe to grind speak up positively about Harry. Not least because the toxic media and William can’t do a damn thing about it.

  5. Cel2495 says:

    Love this. He keeps showing again and again his caring side and how proud and involved he is with Invictus . This is for sure will be an amazing event next year !

    Salty island: stay pressed !

  6. Christine says:

    You can hear the catch in his voice when he and Will are talking to the Ukrainian competitor. Invictus is healing Harry as well as the competitors, this isn’t a vanity project. I love Harry.

  7. LadyE says:

    Aaah, I just have so much respect for Harry because of IG. Watched Heart of Invictus with my mom and it was such a meaningful experience for me to hear her finally talk about her brother (injured in Vietnam) and his struggles and how much something like IG could have helped him. Makes me emotional just remembering, I am really grateful to Harry for giving my family, even if indirectly, a way to heal and better understand my uncle. Harry is truly a gem of a person

  8. Cessily says:

    The more I learn about the games and programs the Invictus Foundation has set in place in countries all over the world is absolutely extraordinary and it is still in its infancy. I wish the need wasn’t so great, but I’m grateful that veterans programs are being made available.. they are learning what works and that is priceless for these families. Love everything about these games.

  9. Jais says:

    Aw this part of the interview was so good. I want another doc!

  10. Eurydice says:

    It’s so gratifying to see Harry free to do what he loves and is passionate about, to see the results of his work and to see the appreciation for the work, instead of incessant sniping.

  11. Teddy says:

    So very smart of Harry and the Invictus organizers to keep things fresh by expanding the scope to winter games. Ditto the idea of the one-year look ahead. It keeps the community engaged and keeps Invictus in the news. I love how the games are a catalyst for a larger, ever-expanding community. And it’s a delight to see how Harry is appreciated and loved.

  12. Amy Bee says:

    As I said on the other post, it was a very good interview. Harry and Invictus are doing a lot of good work.

  13. Becks1 says:

    Love that Invictus is doing this. One of the things that surprised me about Heart of Invictus was just how hard the competitors train for it. I mean I knew there was some training, but the extent of physical and mental training surprised me, and explained why the teams seem like such families when they arrive at the Games – they have been working together a great deal in preparation.

    • Blithe says:

      I hadn’t realized any of this either. (I only saw a few snippets from Heart of Invictus.). Harry — whose own family-of-origin has been broken in so many ways — is working to support, strengthen, sustain, build, and even create communities of warrior-athletes and their families and support systems worldwide. I can’t imagine what participating might feel like for everyone involved. I’m in awe.

  14. Chelsea says:

    This was such a great segment. They were very smart to choose GMA for this as GMA has always done a better job of focusing on Invictus when doing segments there than some of their counterparts. Yes they asked a couple questions about his family but after Harry gave his answers Will just moved on. (Hats off to Harry as well for how he handled the questions and focused on what’s most important).

  15. Cee says:

    I think this is the first time Argentina has been invited to participate and Meghan spoke in Spanish to one of our female athletes. Meghan always goes beyond what is expected, she’s awesome.

  16. matthew says:

    I feel like finally their comms team came to work. This is all very high-level, very aggressive and very polished comms strategy and behind the scenes negotiating to get a piece like this.

  17. swaz says:

    Adding the Winter Games was a brilliant idea ❤ it has created a whole new vibe ❤

  18. therese says:

    I believe the interviewer, Will Reeves, is the son of Christopher Reeves. My heart goes out to him in that he lost both his father after his spinal accident, and then his mother. I have so much good will towards him and his siblings because of that. However, if my memory serves me right, I remember a news segment where Will was being rather snarkey towards the Sussexes, and I was so disappointed and angry. I hope interviewing the man himself, seeing his sincerity and charisma, etc. served as a “bitch slap” to set his head straight, where he previously let his little self be influenced by British idiots. If I’m wrong, please correct me, or let me know if anyone else saw that news piece from a while back.

    • Just Jade says:

      I never saw that news. Some of the morning show anchors can be very stupid when it comes to Harry & Meghan. I remembered Hoda did the same thing until her interview with Harry even now she still shows some nonsense when people talk about Meghan.

    • sevenblue says:

      Hoda got invited by Charles & Camilla to the palace at some point. The people working on morning shows will always place their bets on the palace, otherwise they would lose access. People like Anderson Cooper who are real journalist don’t need that kind of deal. In the past, they (I don’t remember which show) killed a story on Epstein & Andrew because the palace threatened them with losing access to Kate & Will. H&M don’t promise that kind of deal to American shows, so the little jokes they do are to show the people their allegiance. Otherwise, there is no need to sh*t talk while cameras are rolling. You don’t hear them do that to K&W.

  19. Patricia says:

    There is an excellent write up in Town and Country about Harry’s devotion to Invictus by Emily Burack. It is very interesting and gives insights from past Invictus participants. The remembrance of Princess Diana is very touching.