This is a curious story and while the headlines are desperately trying to make it sound like Prince Harry did something wrong/bad, I honestly don’t believe Harry did anything here. Harry is involved because this story is about the Invictus Games and about the British Invictus team. The way Invictus works, each country gets to organize their own teams using their own methods and funding. I would imagine most countries simply organize their Invictus teams through that country’s Defense department or ministry of defense or maybe even a specific federal veterans administration. In the UK, the Team GB Invictus team was organized through the Ministry of Defense, the Royal British Legion and Help for Heroes. HFH is a nonprofit and I suspect they did a lot of the heavy lifting for Team GB’s fundraising for training, travel and competition. Well, no more. The MoD has announced that the Royal British Legion will be stepping in to organize and finance the British Invictus team.
Prince Harry’s Invictus Games is embroiled in controversy after the Help for Heroes charity was dropped from preparing the UK team of injured troops. Britain’s Ministry of Defence has taken the contract away from the charity, which has recruited, selected, supported and trained Team UK since Harry founded the first games in 2014 as a way of helping a generation of soldiers, sailors and airmen and women injured in Afghanistan and Iraq to use adaptive sports to rebuild their lives.
The MoD took the decision to dump Help for Heroes after the charity said it wanted to evaluate whether the Invictus Games were still providing value for money for members of the public who support the charity through donations after the next competition in Dusseldorf in 2023. It also wanted to reduce its potential liability if there was a funding shortfall and share costs more evenly with the two other partners behind the British team, the defence ministry and the Royal British Legion. But it insisted it had wanted to continue to prepare the British team and remained supportive of Invictus.
Instead the MoD decided to award the contract wholly to the Royal British Legion for the next five years, much to the “disappointment” of staff at Help for Heroes, which has assisted 25,000 wounded and injured military personnel and veterans since it was founded in 2007 by Bryn and Emma Parry after they visited soldiers at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham.
Lis Skeet, Services Director at Help for Heroes, said: “Help for Heroes is incredibly proud to have trained, supported and delivered Team UK for the past five Invictus Games. However, following extensive discussions, it has been decided by the MOD that the Royal British Legion will lead the end-to-end delivery of Team UK to the Invictus Games for the next five years and will also be the main funder of the programme. Unfortunately, therefore, we will no longer be directly involved in Invictus Team UK. We want to emphasise that this was not a decision we made ourselves.”
Harry, 37, who is patron of the Invictus Games Foundation, has not spoken publicly about the decision and is not believed to have been involved in the decision, taken during the last games in The Hague last month. But the foundation has vowed to continue working with Help for Heroes on other projects. A spokesman for the foundation said: “This was a decision taken by the UK Ministry of Defence following proposals for the team structure moving forward, and not a matter for the Invictus Games Foundation. Across our participating nations, we work alongside many military organisations and charities to support international wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, including our programmes beyond the games, and will continue to do so with Help for Heroes.”
MoD officials insisted signing up the Royal British Legion to prepare Team UK for the next five years would put the British preparations on a sounder financial footing.
“Prince Harry’s Invictus Games is embroiled in controversy” and then the article is just an interesting story about British bureaucracy and how the British MoD yanked the Invictus contract from one of Britain’s leading veterans’ charities. Now, my radar is pinging like crazy. It would not surprise me at all if shenanigans were afoot. But I think the cover story is supposed to be that Help for Heroes was worried they wouldn’t be able to raise enough money for Team GB for the Dusseldorf games, and instead of the MoD and Royal British Legion simply helping HFH raise money (or the MoD simply financing all of the team’s Invictus expenses), they decided to cut HFH out of it. But I’m open to other theories about what this is really about.
I also think it’s notable that the Royal Family said and did nothing around the Hague Invictus Games. No one in the family tweeted out congratulations to Team GB veterans, there were no royal receptions for the athletes before or after the games, no one in that family even thanked the veterans for their service. That alone speaks volumes. By putting the British Invictus team under the purview of the Royal British Legion, doesn’t that mean that the team will be more closely associated with the Windsors? Hm.
Photos courtesy of Instar.
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- Netherlands and France Out – The Hague, Netherlands -20220421- Prince Harry watches the Powerlifting contest during the 5th Invictus Games at Zuiderpark -PICTURED: Prince Harry -PHOTO by: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images/INSTARimages.com -51438029.jpg This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
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- North America Rights Only – The Hague, Netherlands -20220419- Prince Harry plays table tennis at the Dusseldorf 2022 stand during the Invictus Games at Zuiderpark -PICTURED: Prince Harry -PHOTO by: Aaron Chown/PA Images/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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- NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE – The Hague, The Netherlands -20220422-King Willem-Alexander and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex watch the finals of wheelchair basketball during the Invictus Games -PICTURED: Prince Harry -PHOTO by: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images/INSTARimages.com -51441054.jpg This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
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- NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE – The Hague, The Netherlands -20220422-King Willem-Alexander and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex watch the finals of wheelchair basketball during the Invictus Games -PICTURED: Prince Harry -PHOTO by: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images/INSTARimages.com -51441060.jpg This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
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- NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE – The Hague, The Netherlands -20220422-King Willem-Alexander and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex watch the finals of wheelchair basketball during the Invictus Games -PICTURED: Prince Harry -PHOTO by: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images/INSTARimages.com -51441053.jpg This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
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- NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE – The Hague, The Netherlands -20220422-King Willem-Alexander and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex watch the finals of wheelchair basketball during the Invictus Games -PICTURED: Prince Harry -PHOTO by: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images/INSTARimages.com -51441073.jpg This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
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- North America Rights Only – The Hague, The Netherlands -20220422- The Duke of Sussex attends the Invictus Games closing ceremony at the Zuiderpark, in The Hague, Netherlands. -PICTURED: Prince Harry -PHOTO by: INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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- USA Rights Only, The Hague, Netherlands – 20220420- Prince Harry fist bumps a United Kingdom supporter as he attends the Indoor Rowing competition during the Invictus Games at the Zuiderpark. -PICTURED: Prince Harry -PHOTO by: DDP/INSTARimages.com -ddpimages_17059995 This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
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- USA Rights Only, The Hague, Netherlands – 20220417- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attending the Invictus Games athletics events in the Athletics Park, at Zuiderpark the Hague, Netherlands. -PICTURED: Prince Harry, Meghan Duchess of Sussex -PHOTO by: DDP/INSTARimages.com -ddp_17043891 This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
The Windsors trying to lay claim to Harry’s hard work again. Gotta give Bulliam credit for faux saving the day and bailing his “wayward” brother out of Windsor-hallucinated jeopardy. We SEE you.
Just remember the Windsor’s are ridiculous. Case in point: Prince Edward inspecting the Troops in the Caribbean. The same Prince Edwards that quit the Royal Marines Training Program because it was too HARD. He can wear any military uniform of his choosing and has so many medals you would think he was a highly decorated 5 star General. So, we watched the quitter inspect actual men/women, who made it through training, as their superior. This is why I find that family to be ridiculous. They are just playing dress up and fooling the British People. The rest of the world is slowly waking up to the farce.
@ PaulaH, let us not forget Bulliam who could be bothered for reporting for his duties as an RF rescue pilot as he was too busy dilly-dallying with anything to get away from his own responsibilities.
I hope they are all wearing their undeserving metals when they go down with the ship.
In the U.S. this is called “stolen valor.” And it’s illegal to claim certain unearned military awards for tangible benefit (such as property).
Playing dress-up is right. The royals remind me of scientologists, wearing costumes and giving themselves ribbons and medals whenever they feel like it. https://tinyurl.com/2se93m3t
It’s not stolen valor as the medals are genuinely awarded but it’s definitely unearned!
This like sounds 100% like a government decision. I think that they are now realizing that this is a legit global platform and they want ownership of the UK team. I don’t the Windsor have anything to do with this.
One of the reports I read yesterday said the Queen is patron of the Legion. Maybe that’s the hook they’re trying to hang this decision on – that it’s her patronage. I myself think it has more to do with injecting the royals into Harry’s Games. Once they saw the high visibility of the IGs, there was no way they would leave it alone. I’m thinking the Incandescent One exerted the pressure for this change, using the “Queen’s patronage” as the way in. I just feel really bad for Help for Heroes. They didn’t deserve this, and good for them making it known that this wasn’t their decision.
This was a non story about a week ago when they tweeted it out I believe.
But became a story because of some Sussex supporters wanted to run with different conspiracies on social media. So instead it becomes “Harry charity controversy…” instead of simply organizational change which happens.
Sometimes it really is best just to mind your business especially when it comes to Harry and Meghan.
Every little thing is always blown out of proportion by the British media and it doesn’t help when some “nosy” fans draw attention to it…
Who really knows what’s going on. Ultimately it’s about the veterans getting the best support they need to succeed. If that’s with legion then let it be.
The RF didn’t care before but I hope they care in the future because again it’s about the athletes.
I believe those so-called supporters are really chaos agents.
@amy bee the same to you — Meghan is an American, and her husband Harry, is an honorary American in our book. You don’t tell US who to or who not to support you need to step off.
Chaos Agents for sure, they are so active🤢
@mindurbznesz Everyone who has ever worked for a company or organization knows the phrase “charity controversy” is a pig… and “organizational change” is a pig with lipstick.
@mindurbznesz Meghan is an American, and her husband Harry, is an honorary American in our book. You don’t tell US who to or who not to support you need to step off.
What on earth are you talking about? Most of the people on this site are in the US.
Soooo……the british Ministry of Defense is making a change in terms of how the team GB is funded/organized/prepared for Invictus and of course the tabloids try to make that Harry’s fault but can’t…….sigh.
I thought it was appalling that no one in the royal family could wish Team GB well before the Hague. One of their biggest roles, supposedly, is to support the military, isn’t the queen the commander in chief (or the equivalent)? And because they’re ticked at Harry, they refused to even do that.
The GB team got very little recognition from any quarter before/during/after The Hague — it was shameful. And intentional. But this is extremely low hanging fruit that the RF could have plucked to get some effortless, good PR at a time when they desperately needed some, as well as a diversion. I will never understand how The Firm always makes such crappy choices, dealing blow after blow to the BRF’s reputation. The incompetence is breathtaking.
Right? they didn’t even have to actually come up with the message themselves. Have one of their minions post something on social media like “good luck to all the team GB athlete at Invictus!”
It would have made them seem like they actually support the troops, AND it would have allowed the tabloids to spend the week talking about how the royals were supporting Harry even though he refused to do the same for them, they would never turn their back on him, he’s just causing trouble with his interviews, its clearly an olive branch, etc. I mean cant you just see the stories any supportive IG posts would have generated? It was a PR win in more ways than one.
And yet……nothing. like you said, the incompetence is breathtaking.
@c-shell, the RF doesn’t want to do right, they want to look right. So taking H&M down a peg or more – or just outright trying to destroy them, is the point. William being Booed at the FA Cup Finals was a mortal wound to the Monarchy… and QE2 wants to see that reversed.
@ Becks1 & C-Shell, blinded by sheer pettiness and jealousy of Harry who walked away, on his owns terms, that was decided upon solely due to Harry’s creation for veterans that served their country and The Queen.
Neither the BRF or their incompetent minions could muster up a few sentences or a paragraph or two to support their veterans to cheer them on. Nothing but crickets all around.
The boo-ing that all member of the BRF are faced with is worthy and self imposed.
Skeets statement further solidifies their unhappiness with this new “arrangement” after they have dedicated and created the Yeam UK, “we will no longer be directly involved in Invictus Team UK. We want to emphasise that this was not a decision we made ourselves.”
Didn’t Harry tell Hoda he had goodwill messages from TQ he was passing on to the GB Invictus participants? Believe he was making another point there. You have to question how much ability TQ has personally to make any significant PR, or other, decisions, e.g., officially recognizing Team GB’s participation in Invictus. It absolutely should have been done however, and that it wasn’t, was likely down to Charles. Bit of a slap in the face to see Willem-Alexander so publicly and enthusiastically supporting Harry and Invictus, what?
In I think his first article for Yahoo a few weeks ago – Why Prince Harry has every reason to ask questions about people around the Queen – Omid says “I remember how my jaw dropped” when, while interviewing sources for FF, a friend of H&M gave him a “play by play account” of how Edward Young, HER private secretary (put in place by Charles) prevented Harry from meeting with TQ before he and Meghan made their final departure a couple of years ago, even though SHE was the one who invited Harry. Clearly one of several reasons H&M recently arranged to visit TQ without telling anyone first – another great look for the RF when it was revealed afterwards. Stupid, stupid people.
I feel like people are making a mountain out of a molehill here. It simply sounds as if the royal british legion came up with a better plan of action.
Quite possibly. Sometimes hoof beats really are horses and not zebras. Maybe I don’t know enough about the Royal British Legion, but I don’t understand how this could mean the Windsors are trying to take something away from Harry. The GB Invictus team is just one of >50 international teams that compete in the IG. Harry certainly has close ties to them — they served together — but he’s not part of the decision-making apparatus with re: to them or any Invictus team.
I think people came up with that because the queen is the patron of the Royal British Legion. Still, i doubt she was involved in any decision making and this has simply all to do with the ministry of defense.
@chloe, there is a reason for every season, you best remember that.
Ok wow @USAVGJOE you are coming off realllly aggressive in your comments.
You’re obviously new here, I suggest you chill a tad.
This is a M and H supporting site and the vast majority of the people who comment here are as well.
The first person you jumped on for saying some M Twitter supporters are really chaos agents is probably true, because I’m also on Twitter and have wondered if a few of them are just pretending to be supportive and are actually pushing the other sides agenda, just more subtle about it.
OR that they are reporters trying to make stories, they would benefit from chaos.
But whatever it is, this is a place we discuss and debate things. Give it a try.
What’s the bet the Royal British Legion has a royal patron and Help for Heroes does not. How shameless of the RF to stay completely silent about these games while moving pieces behind the scenes to grab themselves a role (and credit) in time for the next! Vultures.
I feel for HfH, I’ve worked for a charity before and been at the whim of the grant/funding approval process. It’s a huge blow for them.
A quick google says the RBL are the group that organises the remembrance poppy fundraising and the Queen is their current patron.. any guesses on who will be keen to step in to assist for her?
SAS, I also read that the RBL would accompany the veteran athletes to invictus. I have no idea if a member of the brf will attend, but I was encouraged to know that someone in the UK was going to give their athletes the attention they deserve. I can’t see the W&K keen show going, because I don’t believe that they want to compete with Harry with his “home field” advantage. I wonder if PC might show up for a day, or maybe it will be members of the RBL. I hope that the funding will be available from the MOD with some donations to RBL.
I think the Warrior Games in the US is much like the Help for Heros and is donation driven. About one-half of the athletes from the WG were on the US Invictus team.
If this will ensure that the UK Veterans/athletes will get recognition in 2023 and beyond then I’m all for it.
SAS – “What’s the bet the Royal British Legion has a royal patron and Help for Heroes does not.” Appears that’s the case with TQ as the royal patron of RBL, whereas H4H has non-royal patrons. Based on quick Wikipedia read, appears H4H has partnered with MoD and RBL on other projects, including recovery centers, but had to pull back on the centers due to pandemic. H4H concern re: value for donors seems reasonable, as well as their desire for more equable IG support from same partners. Seems like MoD just made executive decision to completely cut H4H out of IG, but sounds like they’re still good charity delivering on core mission.
The royalists and some in press tried to make something out of this but it’s just the MoD decided to go with a bigger and richer veterans charity. It will be interesting to see if this move will prompt the Royal Family to get more involved or at least acknowledge the UK Invictus team. It wasn’t a surprise that there was no reaction from the family because I don’t believe they hold the military and it’s veterans in any regard. They just use it as a PR tool.
I agree. This move is either for someone in the Vulture family to get good press on IG affiliation or to hurt or screw Prince Harry. Vulture family NEVER does anything for the right or fair reason.
Gayle, if this was the MOD then I think they were thinking of the Veterans long term. I have a feeling that this is something the brf wouldn’t get involved in decision making. It would be quite funny if they were as surprised as everyone else when the announcement was made.
What a stupid article. It claims “Harry’s Invictus Games is embroiled in controversy!” while in the same article it says the IG foundation had nothing to do with it. I guess if the British Royal Legion is involved, it would give Charles an excuse to be present at the games because the queen is patron. But I doubt if he would bother to go, probably he will just show up at events in the UK to glom off of Harry’s good name.
I genuinely don’t think anything nefarious is going on. IG is getting bigger and bigger so HFH may not have the resources/infrastructure that a bigger charity like British Poppy Legion have to support the athletes going forward – especially with the next games after Germany introducing Winter games for the first time.
If it comes out the BRF are somehow involved beyond the queen being patron, I’ll take it back but I do think both the press and some people on social media are blowing it out of proportion.
Edit: royal british legion is the exact name of charity! my bad guys! got confused there
At some point the Queen will no longer be the patron of the Royal British Legion. So then whoever becomes the patron may show interest in the Invictus Games. Is this an around about why for someone to get some IG Shine without lifting a finger?
Eh. If you’re referring to W&K, I doubt they’ll do more than send a message (if that). And I have no doubt that the rota will credit the IG to them but it won’t work especially if they don’t do much for it.
I think this is likely the truth, that the IG has outgrown HfH – altho saying that HfH is a very well funded and popular charity who maybe wanted to focus on other areas.
A director of the HfH said in his statement that this was not their decision. He wanted to make that clear.
I share the disgust Kaiser feels about the royals ignoring the British athletes from Invictus. They are quick to parade in military costumes, but are too petty to support those who have truly served and suffered for their country.
I agree. It was such an easy opportunity for the royals to look “gracious,” which is what everyone wants/expects from them. They couldn’t even jump over this bar set 2 inches from the ground. It’s a shame that they hate Harry more than they care about their duties as HEADS OF STATE toward the people who were injured FIGHTING TO PROTECT THEM!
So group that will direct the British athletes who take part in the Invictus Games has changed and that’s it. Nothing that Harry did wrong here at all and only involves Harry because he is the founder of the games. I find it more interesting the Britain’s Ministry of Defense has taken over the running of the British contingent and I think it’s because they want to have interaction with Harry and top administrators of Invictus. They will probably report to Chuck or Wills about Harry and gossip. I hope it’s not more sinister because this is a great event that does so much good and is so needed.
The British Ministry of Defense was always in charge of the British veterans from the time the Invictus Games started.
From my understanding, the MOD has also been involved with Invictus since it’s inception.
Watching the UK team this year I wondered why they were taking buses to the Hague when a flight would have been faster and they received no send off from their own government. If the HFH are not financially able to support the team while the MOD can then it makes sense to streamline the manpower/personell needed to support the Uk team.
I think Harry also met high ranking defense officials of the participating countries. Also supporters and athletes indicated Harry was much more present this year. It seemed he was everywhere at the games especially now that he is no longer doing royal family ‘work’.
Sussex supporters should really stop their responses especially under charity pages.
While the brf would like that kind of support Harry gets, they don’t strike me as willing to play second fiddle to Harry or to do the work needed to keep Invictus going.
Also the brf is the government and the government is the brf. You have royals heading the fa, the baftas, museums.
Interesting. I wonder if the H4H misgivings about future funding and value for dollar in supporting athletes are legitimate or not. I can see a real case being made that money is better spent on helping the worst off veterans, rather than in helping a small group train for athletic events. It’s a genuine question, but I can see the MOD getting pissy about it.
Physical activity is party of recovery.
“Worst off veterans”? Some of the athletes said they were considering suicide before they got involved with IG. What you see in the games is the result of hard work, not necessarily how things started off.
Exactly! Invictus literally prevented some of the veterans who participated from ending their lives! How much worse can you get from that?
Having worked in this space myself, supporting athletes to go to these sorts of competitions is a HUGE cost. It is also constant and it doesn’t come back. When Invictus started this charity may be been able to cover the scope of it all but as it’s gotten bigger they just may not be able to justify the expense anymore.
I know we got a lot of money for ours in govt funding so if that isn’t up to the levels needed the gap could just be too big. If we hadn’t received that money nobody would have got to compete, there’s no money in disability sport that would come anywhere near what it would take to get them there.
My take on this and other stories is BP and CH have realized what a major fu they made driving the sussexes out. The keens are nosediving hard and the sussexes are flying high. The RF is in trouble and won’t survive charles unless Harry and Meghan shine some star power on that dusty institution. I think will and his sidekick have been relegated to the sideline after the flop tour, booing, dragging online continously. The queen has asked for help and im guessing harry set boundaries and conditions that leave the rota and kp with nothing. This change is the RF trying to get closer to that Sussex glow. I bet they do something next year to recognize IG.
The BRF family is filled with jealously, tampon could not handle that people found Diana more interesting than him, and it was just not looks, but her warmth in dealing with regular people.
Cain and Unable can’t stop trying to gaslight, his brother and SiL.
The root is jealousy also, when you put a stumbling block in someone’s path, more often you trip over the block.
Cain is batting 3 for 3, Jamaica, booing in Scotland when boarding the Helicopter and FA game.
However this decision came about, there is no link to Harry being involved in it at all and even then rota like Palmolive are trying hard to spin this on Harry anyway.
I don’t think you can blame anyone for seeing this situation and concluding that something was off. Given the absolutely diabolical things that have been done to Harry and Meghan. IMO. HFH overplayed their hand and lost. There is nothing wrong with deciding you want to evaluate your relationship with an organization but when you open that door then the other parties might decide to evaluate their relationship with you. It seems like they wanted more direct funding. One article said they were fine with continuing through Düsseldorf but then wanted some changes. So they expressed some concern. RBLI wanted more direct involvement. So the MOD decided to go with the charity that was not expressing any concerns. I don’t like the decision because HFH has done an incredible job and the timing seems bad given that the next Invictus is next year. I think that Invictus will find a way to keep HFH involved in some other capacity. Harry was involved with HFH before Invictus was created so I’m sure he’ll continued to work with them.
The Windsors and the institution saw what a global success and hit ig2022 were and want some of that good spotlight on themselves because all they seem to be attracting these days is bad press where it actually counts as in outside of the uk media.
Am I the only one that feels like this might be more of a Tory government interference than the Royal Family? The government also ignored IG outside of a handful of government officials attending. Compared to other countries’ leader’s involvement, UK’s was silent. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a smaller UK team next year due to government interference
The success of these games does not hinge on Britain or the BRF.. sadly instead of supporting it for the good it does they try to discredit them and outright lie about its success and worldwide respect. Something none of the BRF can seem to accomplish on their own, so of course they attack through the invisible contract.
The world is paying attention and the BRF can’t even visit a train station with out showing how horrible they are. If they were smart they would be supporting IG very publicly, they are the ones who desperately need a PR makeover. IG is doing great, adding countries, winter sporting events and sponsors.
The RF and the UK govt is planning to destroy Harry’s Invictus Games… at QE2’s behest. I know she’s a little old woman… but she’s is the sameBiatchwho was hell bent on destroying Princess Diana. Her allegiance is to her son Charles having a carefree transition onto the throne — don’t be fooled. The RF is a ruthless bunch. Blood means nothing to them. William being Booed at the FA Cup, was a mortal wound to the Monarchy and the RF is looking to take that out on H&M. Harry will need to restructure the UK team before the next Invictus Games, in Germany. The RF just won’t give up. They think they own Harry.
usavgjoe, Harry doesn’t have the ability to restructure the UK team. Actually, the Invictus Games will continue on whether there is a UK team or not. I don’t think anyone wants to destroy IG–they can’t. Do I think it’s possible that there may be fewer UK athletes in 2023, well, yes I do. If the money is coming from the MOD with some help from RBL, it’s possible. I can’t think that would be a good look for the UK government, but then they didn’t even bother to acknowledge the accomplishments of their veterans at IG. Whatever happens, the IG will go on. That’s what makes it really amazing. It’s global and they add countries as they go along.
I can’t understand how the UK could so thoroughly ignore their Veteran/athletes at IG. Shame on them.
@Saucy&Sassy, True Dat
The Royal British Legion is a patronage of her majesty the Queen, let’s see if it goes to William. I suspect this is a way for the Windsors to link themselves to Invictus, heaven forbid Harry has something of his own.
I read a retweet from Help for Heroes that suggested that they were removed as the lead against their will. Instead of offering more help, they get side-lined, so to speak. Not surprising considering the mentality of the Tory government and the courtiers.
Remember Headfit that william and kate stole from Harry?
Not sure if kate will be gunning to be the patron for british team since she will be busy separating from willie.
But willie surely want the title as the rotas are breathing on his neck for excess on harry and invictus games. No rotas were even near harry this year. Rotas controlled william, he must be very desparate right now.
@Likeyoucare
NO. No stealing. Those 2 dunderheads cant steal anything from H.
“Heads Together” is the name of the mental health charity that Harry initiated while he was a single-man under the umbrella of the Royal Foundation (RF) which he formed with Bullyiam and then kHATE was added when she married Bullyiam.
The usual suspects in the britshidtmedia etc keep feeding the narrative that kHATE was the one to come up with the name of the charity and H didnt pushback on that. (Its funny that her fluffers arent crediting her with the concept, for the simple reason that neither she nor her dumb husband understand it themselves.)
Anyhooo, when H&M left royal work, H took the Invictus Games Foundation (which he had, presciently, NOT placed under the RF); and Sentebale (which which he had, presciently, NOT placed under the RF); and the Endeavour Fund – which had been placed under the RF but which was the funding arm of the IGFoundation, so he wrestled it away from them.
But he left the Heads Together charity for the mere fact that nothing concrete had been created with that charity so he left it to the 2 losers for them to do something with it. However, it is instructive that we’ve not been hearing anything occurring under that umbrella – even during this year’s mental health month/week/day/
But as you know, Mental Health & Wellbeing is a core concern of H so he went on to create “Head Fit” which he formed in partnership with the UK MoD and which he had been working on under Heads Together since 2017. That program was launched in April 2020. You can see his founder’s message at the site: headfitDOTorg/home (scroll down).
HeadFit was also recently adopted by the Australian Defence Force, so H keeps growing his organizations on a global scale.
I love my sussexsquad but there are times when some can be very stupid and this is one of those times. If the Squad hadn’t for some reason decided to pounce on this last week and run amok with conspiracy theories I dont think we’d be seeing this much attention from RRs on something as minute as MOD deciding to lean on one veteran charity more for support for their IG team as they were evaluating contracts.
We’ve been doing this for years and everyone knows that RRs watch the big sussexsquad accounts so why try to make a mess of this? It’s so dumb and will now unfortunately overshadow the great news that Nigeria and Colombia have joined the Invictus Community.
I think this is a completely unfair comment. The British media and the trolls have shown that they will do anything to try to toxify the Sussexes. Certain people may have drawn additional attention to this but the RRs bring their own poison. Going into the games there were RRs who were claiming the games may not continue. The Times wrote that false article about the Netflix deals undermine an Amazon deal. These are people who manage to turn Harry and Meghan waiting two days to introduce Archie into a scandal and Lilibet’s name into a controversy. Also, as much as they try to deflect from the Sussexes accomplishments they don’t succeed.
The author of this article is right on point.
The nonprofit Help for Heroes that provided training for the British athletes for IG was replaced by the Ministry of Defense and a royal patronage Royal British Legion will be doing the training for the next five years.
Omid Scobie tweeted an article from the Help for Heros sans the incendiary BTM language
There is nothing like success, everyone wants to be associated with a winner.
Yes, the facts all appear to be present in the article. However, the author (or editor/ tabloid publisher) deliberately opted for the click-baity conflict-laden opener smearing both Prince Harry and Hope for Heroes simultaneously:
“Prince Harry’s Invictus Games is embroiled in controversy after the Help for Heroes charity was dropped from preparing the UK team of injured troops.”
EMBROILED, CONTROVERSY, DROPPED, DUMP
DUMP, as in “the MoD took the decision to dump Help for Heroes…” because they wanted to conduct evaluation of IG effectiveness for donors and share costs more equably with other partners.
I would not characterize the author as being “right on point” given the excess baggage of “BTM incendiary language.”
Royal British Legion is the charity that made, and stored, Prince Harry’s unused wreath which could not be laid at the Cenotaph in 2020 because the palace turned down his request.
The comments on Twitter are hysterical after it was questioned why the Royal Family didn’t Tweet out any support for the IG. The responses include that “it is not an international event” “very few people in the US know who its is” “it is ‘very small’ and is “doesn’t include POC” oh and you know the RF can’t just be tweeting out good luck to every little organization.
Nigeria and Colombia have now joined and believe it or not the UK does have POC in its Forces despite the racism and bad treatment they have endured during and after their service to the country. Surprising why the Royal Family now want to be a part of it as the Queen is Patron and Princess Anne President of the Royal British Legion which the MOD has now awarded the contract to manage and deliver Team UK to Invictus Games because of its international success and love for Prince Harry and his wife. Help for Heroes has been dumped as no PR for the RF with this independent and charity run organisation unlike The Legion.
Better late than never and the Royals need all the help they can get so let’s see who Team UK send to Germany next year!
The Royal British Legion has The Queen as Patron and Princess Anne as President. Therefore, King Charles and Prince William will have their eyes on the prize! It is run as a Royal Charter and therefore has no accountability in its accounts or management unlike Help for Heroes which is a charity, independent and limited leaking of information to potentially disruptive sources.
Help for Heroes have run the Invictus Games UK participation successfully since its inception with no complaints from the MOD or Charity Commission. They have a good relationship with Prince Harry and The Invictus Team They are a victim of the recent PR success which the Royal Family and UK are desperate to share in going forward. It is sad as no doubt the Legion’s loyalty is to the Royal Family and MOD and they will be able to leak information and invite whosoever they wish to the next Games. Hoping that Invictus invites Help for Heroes to the next games and limits who The Legion bring along for their PR purposes.
I believe that Help for Heroes and Royal British Legion are both U.K. charities, regulated by governmental Charity Commission. The difference is that RBL has sought to have a royal patron.
Listened to Abolish the Monarchy podcast with Caroline Feinnes from Giving Evidence about whether charities benefited from royal patronage. Didn’t sound like it was very beneficial for charities to do so because royals either never or rarely show up; don’t increase revenues; and tend to concentrate their efforts on charities they started themselves, rather than those set up by others. Apple podcast link for episode is here, but you can also listen on Spotify:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/why-charities-shouldnt-bother-with-royal-patrons/id1505501766?i=1000508555719
Since royals’ involvement with charities appears to form part of their raison d’etre, Feinnes’ research is significant, link here:
https://giving-evidence.com/2020/07/16/royal-findings/
Thanks, Kirk. Very informative.
@sammi, I agree. Feels very much like the Royals are going to attempt to screw things up. Makes me sick.
You are right it seems it is a Charity and the information I saw must be out of date! That is good news and Princess Ann is only President now of the Womens Section.
Still strange that MOD would change something that has worked so well without an agenda and the only beneficiaries are likely to be Royal!