Prince Harry has announced when the 2023 Invictus Games will be held in Germany in a video message thought to be recorded prior to his ’20 weeks off work’ following the birth of his daughter Lilibet.
The Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex, 39, who currently live in their $14million mansion in Montecito, welcomed Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor on Friday, June 4 at 11.40am at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California.
It was previously revealed the pair are both taking up to ’20 weeks off work’ to care for their daughter with their eldest son Archie ‘excited’ and ‘very happy’ about the arrival of his little sister.
But today, in a thought to be pre-recorded video message, Harry opened a clip announcing Düsseldorf as the destination for the Invictus Games in 2023, saying: ‘It’s time to spread the news, something big is coming to Germany.’
It comes as the royal threatened the BBC with legal action after it reported that he and Meghan did not ask the Queen for permission to name their daughter Lilibet – as an extraordinary three-way briefing war broke out between the Sussexes, the Palace and the corporation.
Prince Harry (pictured) has announced when the 2023 Invictus Games will be held in Germany in a video message thought to be recorded prior to his ’20 weeks off work’ following the birth of his daughter Lilibet
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex pictured attending the Invictus Games in Sydney in 2018
The Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex (pictured), 39, who currently live in their $14million mansion in Montecito, welcomed Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor on Friday, June 4 at 11.40am at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California
Taking to Twitter, the Invictus Games, created by Prince Harry, shared a clip of the duke today alongside German Minister of Defence A. Kramp-Karrenbauer.
The caption read: ‘The Invictus Games are coming to Germany. And today, Harry, Duke of Sussex and German Minister of Defence @akk reveal when the international sport event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women will take place.
‘The Invictus Games Düsseldorf: 9-16 September 2023,’ it added.
The 2020 Invictus Games were originally due to take place in the Hague, the Netherlands, in May of that year, but were pushed back until 2022.
Last year’s event was originally due to take place in the Hague, the Netherlands, in May. But the games were rescheduled until May this year due to the Covid pandemic.
Yet in February, the event was pushed back again until 2022, after organisers decided against holding a digital version.
Prince Harry created the Invictus games in which wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans take part in nine sports.
The name ‘Invictus’ comes from the late Roman sun god by the same name. He was also named the ‘Unconquered Sun’ – which is where the games takes its ‘unconquered’ message.
The first event was held in 2014 in London, before a follow-up event was held in the United States two years later. The last games was held in 2018 in Sydney.
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan are both taking ‘several months off work’ to care for Lilibet, it was previously revealed.
In the first words since Lili’s birth was announced, a source close to the couple told the Evening Standard: ‘Archie and his parents are excited to welcome the new addition to their family. He’s very happy to have a little sister.’
And Omid Scobie, a journalist favoured by Harry and Meghan, has revealed that the couple are now taking time off work together.
He said: ‘We’re so used to seeing senior royals going back to work but Harry and Meghan are leading by example. They offer up to 20 weeks parental leave at Archewell – it’ll be several months off work for the pair of them’.
Harry also has a job as ‘chief impact officer’ at San Francisco-based mental wellness app BetterUp, dubbed life coaching Tinder for millennials.
Employees are entitled to eights weeks paid leave to ‘bond with your new child’ – MailOnline has asked the Duke’s boss Alexi Robichaux if his royal employee is taking it.
The Duke is also a celebrity commissioner fighting what he calls an ‘avalanche of misinformation’ as part an American study for the Aspen Foundation, which is funded by left-leaning billionaires – but he is unlikely to qualify for paid leave from there.
Prince William took varying amounts of paternity leave with his three children, taking two to three weeks off duties for George and Charlotte but only two days when Louis was born. Kate took seven months for Louis, four months for Charlotte and only one month for George.
Harry and Meghan’s new baby daughter – the Queen’s 11th great-grandchild – will be known as Lili. A variation on Lily, the flower is often seen to symbolise purity, commitment, rebirth and fertility.
Lili’s middle name Diana honours Harry’s later mother Diana, Princess of Wales. It is no surprise the couple chose to pay tribute to Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997 when Harry was just 12.
Lili has been born almost a month before the princess would have celebrated her 60th birthday on July 1. Her cousin Princess Charlotte also has Diana as one of her middle names, as well as Elizabeth. She is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.
Harry and the Duke of Cambridge are due to unveil a statue of their mother at Kensington Palace on her birthday, but the arrangements have yet to be confirmed, amid a long-reported rift between the brothers.
The Sussexes’ tribute to the Queen is likely to be seen as an olive branch to the monarch and the rest of the family.
Taking to Twitter , the event, created by Prince Harry, shared a clip of the duke alongside German Minister of Defence A. Kramp-Karrenbauer (pictured)
The caption read: ‘The Invictus Games are coming to Germany. And today, Harry, Duke of Sussex and German Minister of Defence @akk reveal when the international sport event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women will take place’
Harry and Meghan plunged the Windsors into crisis with their Oprah Winfrey interview in March when they accused an unnamed royal of making a racist remark about their son Archie’s skin tone before he was born.
They also said the institution failed to help Meghan when she was suicidal. But during the televised interview with Winfrey, the Sussexes lauded the Queen.
Harry spoke of his respect for his grandmother, while Meghan said: ‘The Queen… has always been wonderful to me.’
On Monday, the delighted Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced: ‘On June 4, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili.
The first Invictus Games was held in 2014 in London, before a follow-up event was held in the United States two years later. The last games was held in 2018 in Sydney. (Pictured, Meghan and Harry at the 2018 games)
‘She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.’
Lili – who is eighth in line to the throne – was born in Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California, a private facility where births cost up to £20,000.
The Queen, senior royals and the Prime Minister led worldwide tributes, with Boris Johnson tweeting: ‘Many congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the birth of their daughter.’
Meghan’s estranged father Thomas Markle, who has met neither Harry nor grandson Archie, said: ‘I am very pleased with the announcement of the safe and healthy delivery of my new granddaughter, and I wish her and her mother all my love and best wishes!’