"Life is full of awesome presents and challenges,".
Prince Harry is opening up about the transformative energy of the Invictus Games — and his own experience along the way.
"Life is full of exquisite gifts and challenges, many that can be seen as lessons," the Duke of Sussex, 37, tells PEOPLE in this week's different cowl story. "Over time, I've learned that how we mentally method and react to the ups and downs — those items and challenges — is what helps to define our own outcome."
The Invictus Games, an adaptive sports opposition for wounded warriors situated by means of British Army veteran Harry in 2014, takes its motto "I am" from the well-known William Ernest Henley poem, which consists of the lines, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." For Harry, "the poem is a reminder that you have the power to take control of your life."
Harry, of course, has completed just that: The contemporary Invictus Games in The Netherlands, which run April 16-22, mark the first time he is attending as both a husband, to Meghan Markle, and a father, to Archie, who turns three on May 6, and Lilibet, 10 months – and the first time the self-described "proud papa" is arriving from his new home in California.
"Being a dad certainly adds any other emotional layer to it," says Harry. "When I was in the Army, I promised myself I would be out earlier than having a wife and kids, due to the fact I couldn't think about the heartache of being apart for so lengthy in the course of deployment, the threat of perhaps getting injured, and the truth that my family's lives could be changed invariably if that happened. Every member of the Invictus community has experienced varying stages of these things. I have first-rate respect for what they and their households sacrifice in the name of service."
Invictus has additionally performed a key function in Harry and Meghan's private ride — the pair made their first public look together at the Toronto Games in 2017.
"There is nowhere you can sense extra embraced and supported than with the Invictus family," he says. "The Toronto Games had been our first time out and about publicly in an respectable way. We had been dating at the time, so it was once a lot to take in, but fortunately, we were with the perfect neighborhood for that.
"Now, 5 years later, right here we are in The Hague at the fifth Invictus Games, as parents of two, and living in the US. I had usually wanted to share these wonderful moments with anyone special, and to have Meg by my aspect means everything."
For the athletes who meet Harry at the Games, the connection to him as a fellow veteran is profound — alongside with the support they acquire from their teammates and families.
"These video games are what saved my life," says Mike Murphy, 31, a retired U.S. Army sergeant who misplaced his sight on a training mission in Greece. "I'm just so appreciative."
Josh Smith, the Team USA co-captain who first met Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex at the 2018 Australia Games, shared time with them again in The Netherlands. "The Duke came over to me, shook my hand, gave me five. He said, 'It's extraordinary to see you again, Josh. Thanks for being here.' That's some thing it really is sincerely exceptional coming from the creator of the Games."
Tags: Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Meghan, Invictus Games
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