Prince William’s ‘Irritated’ Reaction to the Invictus Games Surprised Prince Harry: ‘What Was Going on Here?’
“What was going on here?” Prince Harry asked himself when he shared his idea for the Invictus Games with Prince William. In Spare, the Duke of Sussex revealed how his brother’s reaction quickly dissolved into an “Heir versus Spare thing” once again igniting their “tired childhood dynamic.”
Harry felt ‘supremely confident’ before giving a ‘pitch’ on what would become the Invictus Games
After seeing the Warrior Games in Colorado during a five-day 2013 U.S. royal tour, Harry returned home to England with the “essential idea” for what was then called the “International Warrior Games” on paper.
To get them started, Harry explained in his 2023 memoir he’d first have to “pitch” the idea to the Royal Foundation Board, followed by William. The board, he went on, would be “no problem.” Because, after all, it was his, William, and Kate Middleton’s foundation. Plus, the timing — “early summer 2013” — worked in his favor.
The now-Prince and Princess of Wales were “out of commission” preparing to become parents. Meanwhile, the foundation had no upcoming projects.
“Its roughly seven million pounds was just sitting there, doing nothing. And if these International Warrior Games worked, they’d enhance the foundation’s profile, which would energize donors and replenish the foundation’s accounts many times over,” Harry explained. “There’d be that much more to go around when Willy and Kate came back full-time. So I was feeling supremely confident in the days leading up to my pitch.”
However, “when the actual day came, not so much.” Harry “realized how badly” he “wanted this, for the soldiers and their families,” and himself.
Despite not being at his “best” due to the “sudden attack of nerves,” the board gave their approval. Then came pitching the Invictus Games to William.
Harry thought William’s ‘irritated reaction’ to the Invictus Games stemmed from ‘sibling rivalry’
The Duke of Sussex continued, recalling how his brother reacted with irritation to his idea. “Thrilled, I reached out to Willy, expecting him to be thrilled as well,” Harry said, noting the now-41-year-old had been “sorely irritated.”
“He wished I’d run all this by him first,” Harry wrote. “My assumption, I said, was that other people had done so. He complained that I’d be using up all the funds in the Royal Foundation.”
“What was going on here? I wondered,” Harry went on. “Then I realized: My God, sibling rivalry. I put a hand over my eyes. Had we not got past this yet? The whole Heir versus Spare thing? Wasn’t it a bit late in the day for that tired childhood dynamic?”
“But even if it wasn’t, even if Willy insisted on being competitive, on turning our brotherhood into some kind of private Olympiad,” Harry continued asking: “hadn’t he built up an insurmountable lead?”
“He was married, with a baby on the way, while I was eating takeaway alone over the sink,” Harry said, referring to now-10-year-old Prince George. “Pa’s sink! I still lived with Pa!” he added in reference to King Charles III before concluding, “Game over, man. You win.”
The Invictus Games were the subject of many Spare passages about William. It also wasn’t the only one where “sibling rivalry” became an apparent factor. Elsewhere in his best-selling memoir, Harry claimed he and William “almost came to blows” over charity work in Africa.
The 2023 Invictus Games are in Germany
Now, 10 years after Harry was inspired to create them, the Invictus Games are headed for Germany. Co-hosting the 2023 games are the German Armed Forces and the City of Düsseldorf (via The Invictus Games Foundation).
Scheduled for September 2023, the sixth annual Invictus Games will host approximately 500 competitors from 22 countries. Harry — and Meghan Markle — visited Germany in September 2022 to promote the games shortly before Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
Harry’s expected to make an appearance at the 2023 Invictus Games with Meghan, although the Duchess of Sussex’s attendance has not been confirmed.
The 2023 Invictus Games are Sept. 9-16, 2023.
