Now that the 2023 version has been an unmitigated success, only the most malign would begrudge Prince Harry the credit for founding, sustaining over the past decade, and tirelessly championing in person the Invictus Games.
Of course he didn't do this single-handedly. But the Games remain his vision, he has ensured there is an organisation with funding and staff to delivery it, and he has helped by going around the world meeting vets and their families, securing sponsors like Boeing, collaboration from veterans associations, and support from government officials such as the President of Germany and Justin Trudeau the Prime Minister of Canada, and making Heart of Invictus documentary on Netflix, and securing advertisers and and and...
The man has come a long way since the days when I used to dismiss him as a distasteful pr*t for wearing a Nazi uniform to a party. And somehow, his transformation, his metamorphosis from mindless sloane ranger to award-winning author, Invictus Games founder and sponsor, 8-hr witness box testifier, father of two and husband of the woman most written-about and attacked for being a mixed-heritage progressive, is quite a sight to behold.
He has had to show incredible resilience at pivotal points in his life journey (as he writes about in his excellent autobiography, Spare), and particularly in the past year. Blasted on all sides by the vengeful UK/Murdoch media, with his own family colluding to bring about his exclusion and attempting to sabotage everything he and Meghan do, he's kept his head down and carried on, walking his own talk to vets and others about mental health and resilience.
So here I am, admiring the man, now. Recognising that he is as imperfect as any other human, but consciously choosing to support him as one of the few progressive icons retaining somewhat of a voice in a world of Elon Musks, Andrew Tates, Donald Trumps, Jeremy Clarksons, Piers Morgans, Russell Brands etc.
Because that's what is a stake here - this goes beyond just the RF's Harry-demolition agenda, their response to the existential threat that Harry and Meghan pose to them. That is in some ways a UK-specific problem. I believe the broader societal stakes (call it the culture war) are the reason some outside the UK are joining the RF/UK/Murdoch media in their H&M hatchet job, e.g. Trump singling out Meghan out of the blue recently in a conversation about debates.
So progressives of the world, show some support for your icons, or there soon won't be any left!