Royal tour: Duke of Sussex urges the public to honour the military as he opens Invictus Games in Sydney
The Duke of Sussex has urged the public to honour the current generation of serving military with the same respect they afford First and Second World War veterans, as he used his Invictus Games opening speech to declare: “In today’s world being tough means being honest about how we feel - both inside and out.”
The Duke, the founder of the Invictus Games, told servicemen and women their generation was helping to reinstill pride in the military after years in which “society’s recognition of them too often wavered”.
The speech, on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House, came as the Duke officially introduced his wife and unborn child to the world at the Games.
Kensington Palace released an image of the Duke practising on stage ahead of the show, with the Duchess watching him from the stalls.
The couple sat side-by-side as they watched performers in the live show, a year on from the Toronto Invictus opening ceremony in which Meghan Markle sat apart from Prince Harry as they tentatively introduced their relationship to the world.
Speaking to their Australian hosts, the Duke said: “Thank you for the welcome you have given Meghan and I over the last few days. “I have been so proud to be able to introduce my wife to you and we have been so happy to be able to celebrate the personal joy of our newest addition with you all.”
The Duchess beamed with pride as a succession of on-stage speakers praised her husband’s work with the games, laughing as Prime Minister Scott Morrison asked the crowd: “How good is Prince Harry?” “We love you too, Meghan,” he added.
When the Duke took to the stage, he turned his attention to a message about the military. “So much has rightly been made of my grandmother’s generation who endured the horrors of the Second World War and then rebuilt a world order around freedom and tolerance,” he said.
“The legendary bravery and resilience of the Aussie digger - to this day - commands respect and admiration. “But if we’re being honest, we know that in many nations, the place of our men and women in uniform became too often undervalued in the decades after the Second World War.
“The sacrifice and character of our troops never changed, but society’s recognition of them too often wavered. But that has changed. A new generation - the Invictus generation - is defining what it means to serve. And we are all taking notice.”
He added: “When they have been open about their hidden emotional and mental wounds, the Invictus generation has shown us that in today’s world being tough means being honest about how we feel - both inside and out.”
The ceremony overran by more than an hour due to a thunderstorm that had made it too dangerous for the public to take their seats in the outdoor arena, so the Duchess undertook her latest night of the tour with a 10.30pm finish.
A palace source said she was still “feeling good” in her second trimester of pregnancy, with the couple “pacing themselves” to get through the 16-day schedule.
The Duchess has so far insisted she will not cancel any planned engagements, with the protective Duke appearing to keep a close and concerned eye on her while they are out in public.
The tour has been designed with her health in mind, with its 76 engagements across 16 days scheduled mostly in the morning and early afternoon, keeping the evenings largely free.
Next Saturday, the Duchess herself is expected to make her first Invictus speech at the closing ceremony, as she continues to find her feet as a member of the Royal family.
“The Duke and Duchess are loving their time here,” a source said. “They are overwhelmed by the warmth of the welcome and the people.”
Earlier on Saturday, the couple had attended their first event of the Sydney Invictus Games as they presented medals to the Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge winners.
On Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour, the Duke seized the moment to join in with driving remote control model cars with three children, whose fathers are competing in the games.
The Duchess, who nervously declined to take her own set of controls, laughed at her husband’s attempts to control his miniature vehicle, as he drove it deliberately at the watching media and saw it comically tipped over by a small child’s rival car.
On Sunday the couple will attend the road cycling and sailing events at the Invictus Games and enjoy a lunchtime reception in their honour, before travelling to Fraser Island for a night away from it all.
