Prince Harry is practicing German before the Invictus Games hits Düsseldorf this fall.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, addressed the crowd in German in a video message broadcast during an Invictus Games kickoff reception on Tuesday. The event was hosted by local government officials in North Rhine-Westphalia, where the competition for service personnel and veterans will run from September 9 to 16.
"Guten abend, meine damen und herren," Prince Harry began in a clip shared on Twitter, which translates to "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen."
"First and foremost, I would like to thank Prime Minister Wüst, members of parliament, Team Germany and all those gathered here tonight for your continued support. We are just 150 days away!" he added.
Big day for @InvictusGamesDE as Team Germany joined the Minister of Defense at the capital. Prince Harry joined the event by video call to congratulate the newly named team. #InvictusGames #IG23 https://t.co/Vyl4qYUEHn
— R.S. Locke / Royal Suitor (@royal_suitor) April 18, 2023
Preparations are underway as Prince Harry's international adaptive sports competition for injured, sick and wounded service personnel and veterans will be held in Germany for the first time. Düsseldorf was first announced as a host city for the Invictus Games in 2020, with the event initially set for 2022. However, when the coronavirus pandemic delayed the 2020 Invictus Games in The Hague, the Netherlands until 2022, plans for Düsseldorf were also bumped back.
The well-being of veterans is a cause close to heart for the Duke of Sussex, who served in the British Army for 10 years and completed two tours of Afghanistan. Prince Harry launched the Paralympic-style sports tournament in 2014 after attending the 2013 Warrior Games in the U.S., inspired by the transformative physical, psychological and social powers of sports for those who have served.
Around 100,000 spectators are excepted to attend the next competition in Düsseldorf, where 500 athletes from 20-plus countries will compete across ten sports, the North Rhine-Westphalia government said. The games will be held at the newly organized Invictus Games Park under the motto "A Home for Respect."
Last September, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were in Europe for a series of charitable events, including the Invictus Games' One Year to Go event in Germany, when his grandmother Queen Elizabeth died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex extended their trip abroad and remained in the U.K. for the funerary events that followed, including the Queen's state funeral and committal service, before returning home to California.
Prince Harry's video message for the next Invictus Games comes one week after Buckingham Palace announced that he will attend the coronation of his father King Charles while Meghan, 41, will not. The Duchess of Sussex will stay home in Montecito with the couple's children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, while Prince Harry supports his father at the May 6 crowning ceremony in London.
King Charles is said to be "pleased" his son will be there, but the wider reconciliation so many have hoped for within the family hasn't happened.
"At this point, it's become so personal," a close friend tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week's cover story. "Maybe what they wanted wasn't achieved, but at the end of the day, he's going there to support his dad."
