A day to remember
Plea for servicemen of modern conflicts to be accorded recognition on eve of Invictus Games
The Duchess of Sussex, in a black Emilia Wickstead dress and Philip Treacy hat, joined the Duke of Sussex at a ceremony honouring war heroes at an Anzac memorial in Sydney. They laid a wreath together, their first as a married couple.
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 uses his Invictus Games opening speech to declare: “In today’s world being tough means being honest about how we feel – inside and out.”
The Duke, the founder of the games, told servicemen and women their gen- eration was helping to reinstill pride in the military after years in which “society’s recognition often wavered”.
Kensington Palace released an image of the Duke practising his speech on stage in the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House , with the Duchess watching him from the front row.
The couple then sat side by side as they watched performers in the live show, a year on from the Invictus opening ceremony in Toronto in which the two sat apart as they tentatively introduced their relationship to the world.
Speaking to their Australian hosts, the Duke said: “Thank you y for the welcome you have given n Meghan and I over the last few days. . I have been so proud to be able to introduce troduce my wife to you and we have been en so happy to be able to celebrate the personal joy of our newest addition with you all.”
The Duchess beamed as a succession of onstage speakers praised her husband’s work, laughing as Scott Morrison, the prime minister, asked the crowd: “How good is Prince Harry? We love you too, Meghan.”
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. “But if we’re being g honest, , we know that in many nations, the place of our men and women in uniform became too often undervalued 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 is defining what it means to serve. And we are all taking notice.”
He added: “When they have been open about their 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.”
As the ceremony overran by more than an hour owing to a thunderstorm that had made it too dangerous for the public to take their seats in the outdoor arena, 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, with the couple “pacing themselves” through the 16-day schedule.
The tour has been designed with her health in mind, with its 76 engagements across 16 days scheduled mostly in the morning and afternoon.
Yesterday, the Duke and Duchess honoured veterans at an Anzac memorial in a ceremony in the centenary of the end of the First World War.
The couple, she in black Emilia Wickstead dress and Philip Treacy hat and he in the Blues & Royals tropical dress and insignia of the Queen’s personal aide-de-camp, laid a wreath.
Today, they will attend the road cycling and sailing events, before travelling to Fraser Island for a night away.
‘The Invictus generation has shown us being tough means being honest about how we feel’