The prince honoured Canada's indigenous First Nations peoples in his speech, thanking them for hosting the games, and he told the competitors: "Over the past decade I've lost count of the times we've heard you tell us that the Invictus Games saved you.
Addressing the 40,000-strong audience, he commented: "At this moment, when there is no shortage of crises, no absence of uncertainty, no lack of weak moral character in the world, the values you embody, the way you carry yourselves – not only at the Invictus Games, but each and every day – your courage, your resilience, your humanity, illuminate a path forward for us all."
Prince Harry had a funny exchange with an Invictus Games athlete when he was quizzed about his royal credentials.
The prince founded the Invictus Games in London in 2014, with this year marking the seventh edition of the competition for wounded military veterans.
Elsewhere in his emotional speech at the ceremony, Prince Harry, who himself served in Afghanistan and saw some of his comrades suffer life-changing injuries, told the crowd of 40,000: "We gather here in Vancouver in a spirit of unity.
