Prince Harry on visiting King Charles after cancer diagnosis: 'I love my family'
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is speaking out about two of his biggest passions: his family and the Invictus Games, the Paralympic-style competition for wounded service members that he founded one decade ago.
Harry, 39, traveled to Whistler, British Columbia, the site of the 2025 Invictus Games, just one week after flying from California to London to visit his father, King Charles III, who was recently diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer.
Harry told ABC News' Will Reeve in an interview for "Good Morning America" that he spoke with his father about his diagnosis, which was announced publicly on Feb. 5, and quickly made a plan to see him in person.
"I jumped on a plane and went to go see him as soon as I could," Harry told Reeve in Whistler, as they toured the site of next year's Invictus Games. "Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I’m grateful for that."
Harry, who declined to comment further on his father's diagnosis, added that he hopes to see Charles again soon, saying, "I’ve got other trips planned that will take me through the U.K., or back to the U.K., and so I’ll stop in and see my family as much as I can."
The duke had not seen his 75-year-old father since the king's coronation last May at Westminster Abbey.
Harry reportedly met with Charles, who has since begun cancer treatment, for less than an hour on Feb. 6, and stayed overnight in a hotel before departing the next day from London's Heathrow Airport.
While in London, Harry did not meet with his older brother, Prince William, with whom he has had a strained relationship in recent years.
When asked about the possibility of Charles' illness having a reunifying effect on his own family, Harry replied, "Yeah, I'm sure," and reflected on what he has seen firsthand among the families of Invictus athletes.
"Throughout all of these families, I see it on a day-to-day basis,- again, the strength of the family unit coming together," Harry said. "So, yeah, I think any illness, any sickness, brings families together. I see it time and time again, and that makes me very happy."
A new chapter for the Invictus Games
Harry has been a regular and integral part of the lives of wounded servicemembers and their families since 2014 when he launched the first Invictus Games as an international version of the Warrior Games, an annual event organized by the U.S. Department of Defense, which the prince attended in 2013.
Harry, who served in the British Army for 10 years, hosted the first Invictus Games in London in 2014. The Games have since taken place in Orlando, Toronto, Sydney, Dusseldorf and The Hague.
Next year's Invictus Games in both Vancouver and Whistler will be the first time winter sports are included in the Paralympic competition.
In addition to the traditional lineup of sports like indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby, the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler will include alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling.
More than 500 competitors from over two dozen nations are expected to compete during the Games, held from Feb. 8 to 16, 2025.
While in Whistler to attend the One Year To Go celebration, Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, met with dozens of Invictus participants and toured the courses where those same competitors will compete next year.
Harry himself tried one of the Games' most daring competitions in Whistler, the skeleton sled, which saw him don a helmet and slide head-first down an ice chute.
But it was the Invictus Games competitors on whom Harry wanted to put his focus.
"To see the smiles on their faces and then to hear the stories at the end and the excitement and just the happiness, that's what this is all about," he told Reeve. "This is what it's all about and as long as it's safe, we will continue to facilitate these kinds of opportunities for them."
Describing why he has a passion for being part of the Games, Harry said, "I've always had a life of service, and then I get my fix being part of, being with these guys. There’s no version of me coming here, watching them and not getting involved myself."
A possible next chapter for Harry in America
The Vancouver area is where Harry and Meghan spent several months at the start of 2020 as they carved out their new lives as non-working senior members of Britain's royal family.
The couple has now settled into a life of their own in Montecito, California, where they live with their two children, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2.
Harry said his and Meghan's children -- who did not join their parents in Whistler -- are doing "great" and "growing up very, very fast."
"They both have got an incredible sense of humor and make us laugh and keep us grounded every single day, like most kids do," he told Reeve. "I’m just very grateful to be a dad."
After growing up in the U.K., Harry said he doesn't know that he feels American yet, but he loves living in the U.S.
"It’s amazing," he said. "I love every single day."
Describing a possible next chapter for himself stateside, Harry told Reeve that he has considered getting his American citizenship.
"I have no idea," he said when asked what would stop him from doing so. "The American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind, but certainly is not something that is a high priority for me right now."
