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Prince Harry Won't Let Honeymoon Get In The Way Of 2020 Invictus Games Announcement

Prince Harry Won't Let Honeymoon Get In The Way Of 2020 Invictus Games Announcement

Prince Harry might be on his honeymoon, but that doesn't mean the royal has stopped thinking about work.

On Monday, the Duke of Sussex announced that the Netherlands has been chosen to host the 2020 Invictus Games.

The next chapter of the Invictus Games Story will continue in 2020 in...

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"I am delighted to announce that The Hague is taking up the challenge of hosting the fifth Invictus Games in 2020," the 33-year-old prince said in a statement via Kensington Palace. "The city will soon become the motivation for hundreds of servicemen and women using the Invictus Games to inspire their recovery from physical and mental injuries."

The Invictus Games is a Paralympic-style multi-sport event where injured, wounded and sick service personnel compete in sports such as archery, road cycling and wheelchair rugby.

Harry founded the games in 2014 after he was inspired by a similar sporting event in the U.S. called the Warrior Games. The goal of the global competition is to inspire recovery and rehabilitation among the athletes so they do not become defined by their injuries.

The first Invictus Games was held in London, U.K., but Orlando, Fl., and Toronto have also hosted the competition. Sydney, Australia, is also set to host the games later this year.

The games hold special meaning for Harry for two reasons. First, the prince revealed that the competition helped him overcome his fear of asking for help when it came to his own mental health.

"Actually going through Invictus and speaking to all the guys about their issues has really healed me and helped me," he said in a 2017 interview, according to ABC News.

Prince Harry congratulates the US team at the Wheelchair Basketball Finals during the 2017 Invictus Games.
Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation
Prince Harry congratulates the US team at the Wheelchair Basketball Finals during the 2017 Invictus Games.

Harry previously revealed that he's suffered panic attacks during public engagements and that it wasn't until he completed two tours of Afghanistan with the British Army that he was able to finally confront his feelings about his mother's death.

"I have got plenty of issues. None of them really relate to Afghanistan but Afghanistan was the thing that triggered everything else and the process," he added in his 2017 interview.

The Invictus Games is also significant to the prince because that's where he made his first unofficial public appearance with then-girlfriend Meghan Markle. The couple, who are now known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were spotted packing on the PDA in Toronto at the 2017 Games.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a Wheelchair Tennis match during the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto.
Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a Wheelchair Tennis match during the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto.

Markle has also shown her support of the games by attending the U.K. team trials and a reception for Invictus with Harry in April.

Now that the two are married, we can expect to see Markle at her husband's side at both the 2018 Games in Sydney and the 2020 Games in the Hague.

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