Prince Harry has told how he speaks to his son Archie about Princess Diana and has shown him iconic footage of her walking through minefields. The royal, 40, spoke about how he is keeping Diana's memory alive by telling the five-year-old about her life and achievements, including bringing international awareness about landmines in Angola. Speaking at the Invictus Games in Canada, Harry said: "Archie was asking about landmines so I talked about how some of these guys were blown up. I found myself talking to him about mines when he was five years old. Interestingly it gave me a chance to talk about my mum, his grandma, which I didn't even really consider. He wanted to see videos and photographs of his grandma Diana out doing her thing with land mines all those years ago.".
Diana died aged 36 in a car crash in Paris in August 1997. She triggered a worldwide conversation that saw a turning point in the fight against the lethal devices by walking through a minefield in Huambo, Angola, on January 15, 1997. Harry honoured her memory by walking through a minefield in Dirico, Angola, in September 2019. Experts say 60 million people worldwide still live in fear of landmines every day. Harry spoke while watching wheelchair basketball, alongside wife Meghan, 43, inside Vancouver Convention Centre on Sunday night. Speaking to CTV presenter Omar Sachedina, he added: "It's hard because kids don't always ask the right questions, so you either shout it down right away, which I will never do, or you engage in the conversation and try to explain things.".
It comes as Harry and Meghan stopped off to visit members of the indigenous Squamish Nation this morning while on their way from Vancouver to Whistler. The couple played traditional instruments as children danced and sang for them inside Squamish Valley Totem Hall. Posting on Instagram after leaving the venue, Meghan wrote: "Thank you for welcoming us onto your sacred land". The Sussexes will arrive in the picturesque ski resort of Whistler later today, where the Invictus skeleton competition is being held.
The Vancouver tournament kicked off with a star-studded opening ceremony on Saturday, held in the city's 40,000-capacity BC Place Stadium. Harry and Meghan treated fans to a loved-up display while watching the likes of Nelly Furtardo, Katy Perry Coldplay's Chris Martin perform on stage. Meghan, dressed in a £2,400 ivory double breasted Sentaler trench coat, was seen tenderly stroking her husband's neck while they sat and watched the event in the stands. Another moment saw the couple pack on the PDA as they shared a passionate smooch.
Reacting to the tactile signs of affection from the Duchess, body language expert Judi James told The Mirror: "Clutching his arm and leaning here head against his shoulder in a romantic, date-night pose or reaching her hand out to caress his neck in a gesture of more maternal-looking pride as he is mentioned from the stage." And she continued: "She's directing attention onto Harry and showing support and an almost fan-like sense of appreciation.".
Just hours before the glittering opening ceremony, Meghan made an impromptu speech at a private Invictus Games event where she gushed about her husband and made a sweet nod to their children, Archie and Lilibet. Speaking to a crowd of veterans and their families, said: "I was not planning on speaking tonight, and we just arrived, I don't know, a couple of hours ago, and I touched Canadian soil and I went, oh, it feels like home.".
Then turning to Harry, she said: "We are just thrilled to be here, and I would be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to introduce someone who means a lot to me. And I know he means quite a lot to all of you. You will see him throughout this week. You will see him at the Games. You will see him probably curling with you, cheering you on.". The Duchess then gave rare insight into parenthood with her husband, as she said: "What you won't have seen is all of the moments that have happened in the lead-up to these Games, all of the moments where, as you know, with families, the big rush in the morning - getting ready for school, packing the lunch boxes, making breakfast. My husband's in all of that with us, and then he'll be on his phone, and Archie will say: 'Papa, why are you on your phone?' And he's like: 'That's Invictus. I'm getting ready for Invictus.''.
Harry has shown his cheeky and sometimes goofy side at the sports tournament, often leaving his wife in fits of laughter with his stunts. One such moment saw him 'dad dancing' with Canada's Invictus Games team, and another saw him do an impression of a Canadian moose at a basketball event. The Duke even posed modelling a pair of 'budgie smuggler' swimming trunks, presented to him by the Australia team. Meghan has been sharing behind-the-scenes moments on her newly re-launched Instagram page.
