Prince Harry enlists all-star cast for Invictus Games promo film
Prince Harry has assembled an all-star cast to do a promotional spot for the upcoming Invictus Games.
The fourth in line to the British throne enlisted Daniel Craig, Tom Hardy, Bear Grylls, Joanna Lumley, Rod Stewart, Joss Stone, Will.i.am, Stephen Fry and numerous others for a short clip in which its subjects orate the Victorian poem “Invictus” by English poet William Ernest Henley.
Invictus is Latin for “unconquered.”
The Paralympic-style games will take place in London and will benefit wounded service personnel who will compete in the five-day signature event taking place Sept. 10 to 14. The games will feature nine adaptive sports.
“Our Armed Forces community have made huge sacrifices in recent years,” said Craig, of the James Bond film franchise, in a statement on the games’ website. “Please give something back to those who give so much. Support this September’s Invictus Games.”
“I want to encourage you [the public] to get behind our Armed Forces for the September Invictus Games. You can get your tickets online,” said Hardy in a statement from the organization.
The 29-year-old prince, who is a captain in the Royal Army Air Corp., announced the event in March hoping that it would help former servicemen and women in their recovery and rehabilitation following their service. It is being organized with the support and backing of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry and the Ministry of Defense.
Earlier this month, Prince William’s younger brother even tweeted in support of the upcoming competition.
“By the nature of their profession these men and women are often very active and undoubtedly highly competitive,” Harry said in a speech about the games on May 15.
“The Invictus Games this September will give these inspirational people the opportunity to showcase their talent and, in doing so, prove that anything is really possible. The games do not stand in isolation but are part of a broader legacy; there are many fantastic organizations supporting those leaving the armed forces, whether injured or not.”
On Thursday, the prince took part coaching a children’s rugby game and playing goalie during a soccer game in Suffolk during the Prince’s Trust Team Programme.
“He was funny and making lots of jokes. He told me I had to stay behind the ball and joked that if I went in front again he would slap me,” said 9-year-old George Hill.
Harry also attended the two-day Suffolk Show organized by the Suffolk Agricultural Assn. The Apache helicopter pilot noted that he flew missions over their residence during his time in the army.
“It’s no accident Britain’s greatest landscape painters took their inspiration from Suffolk’s huge skies and gentle seas,” he said in a speech at the show. “I know this because I have had the pleasure of flying Her Majesty’s Apaches through those skies over the past years.
“Which brings me to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to the welcome and kindness I have received during my time as a Suffolk soldier. It’s one thing to have experienced such generosity of spirit, it’s quite another to have encountered it from people who have had me buzzing over them and their animals at all hours of the day and night.”
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