Sunday, May 15, 2016

Another British royal looking good -- Prince Harry

England is on a roll right nowAll kinds of good things seem to be happening -- and they stand out all the more when so much is so ugly and mean-spirited and divisive here in the U.S. 

A few days ago, I celebrated the new mayor of London, Sadiq Kahn, and the people of London for having shunned an attempt to defeat him because of his religion.   They elected someone who is likely to be an important world figure in the coming years.  (see blogs x2 on May 13th).

We've all been charmed by Prince William and his marvelous wife and adorable two children -- not only for their good looks but also for their down-to-earth life style and for their good works.

And now comes Prince Harry making his contribution to humanizing and endearing the royal family.    Harry was the hands-on, driving force behind creating the Invictus Games, a Para-Olympics type of games for wounded warriors and veterans.   The second year games have just concluded in Orlando, Florida, where Harry proved himself to be a fun-loving, warm, enthusiastic man of the people, not some stuffy royal elite.   Here are a few photos, credited to Getty Images.


Prince Harry closed the second ever Invictus Games in Florida on Thursday night, name-dropping US athletes Sarah Rudder and Elizabeth Marks while praising all the competitors who took part

Harry, who founded the games for wounded, injured and sick veterans, now in its second running after the London Invictus Games in 2014, surprised many of the competitors by handing out medals himself 

Prince Harry kissed road cyclist Katie Kuiper (right), a former sergeant who served in the US Army as an intelligence analyst and suffered a gunshot wound to the head in 2013




Prince Harry hugs competitors and presents medals during the wheelchair basketball on the final day of the Invictus Games Orlando 2016 at ESPN Wide World of Sports on May 12, 2016 in Orlando, Florida

Ruth, a spectator at today's wheelchair tennis finals, seemed pleased to return the favour as she leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek

Prince Harry led tributes to the athletes at the closing ceremony on Thursday night which also featured performances from the likes of Rascal Flatts and Rachel Platten
 
The last photo is of Prince Harry paying tribute to the athletes at the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games, which borrowed lines from "Invictus," the poem that is the source for the games' name, emphasizing overcoming limitations and adversity:   "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul."

This is the modern generation of the Royal House of Windsor they are the Sybils of Downton Abbey.  I had thought William and Catherine had the monopoly on loveableness and that Harry was a happy-go-lucky playboy.   Here he shows he is a caring good guy, with no pretentions of elitism -- and truly appreciative of the sacrifices these men and women have made for their country.   He himself trained and served as a helicopter pilot with a tour of duty in Afghanistan.  Fortunately he was not wounded, but his experience in the military, as did William's, seems to have grounded them in ordinary life outside the royal palaces.    Of course, they also had Princess Diana as their mother, and she paved the way as the beloved "People's Princess."

Ralph

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