The Duke of Sussex has spent time with Canadian soldiers ahead of Remembrance Day.
Harry met with soldiers from the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and the Royal Regiment of Canada and discussed the units’ contributions to Canadian military operations worldwide.
Wearing a poppy, Harry posed for pictures with the reservists and talked about their dual roles as soldiers and civilians.
The duke also took time to watch demonstrations from the base’s dive team, deck team weapons display, operations team, and band members.
The meeting was part of his two-day visit to Toronto to meet veterans, members of the armed forces community and military charities to mark the “Remembrancetide” period which spans the two-week period leading up to Remembrance Sunday.
The visit came after he expressed his pride at fighting for his country, his love of the “things that make us British”, and warned how easy it is for veterans to be forgotten “once the uniform comes off”.
Harry, who undertook two frontline tours to Afghanistan, penned a passionate essay describing the privilege of serving alongside men and women from all four corners of the UK.
He called on people to remember “not only the fallen, but the living” who carry the “weight of war” and urged them to knock on veterans’ doors and “join them for a cuppa… or a pint” to hear their stories and “remind them their service still matters”.
In a personal 647-word piece titled “The Bond, The Banter, The Bravery: What it means to be British – By Prince Harry”, the duke acknowledged although he “currently” lives in the US, he reflects that “Britain is, and always will be, the country I proudly served and fought for”.
Harry paid tribute to the “stoic spirit” of self-deprecation and humour of “us Brits” and fondly tells how the “banter of the mess, the clubhouse, the pub, the stands” are the “things that make us British”, adding: “I love it.”
He described Remembrance as “not simply a minute’s silence” but “a call to collective responsibility”.
His thoughts were released while his brother, the Prince of Wales, is in the midst of a major tour to Brazil and on the day of William’s Earthshot Prize awards ceremony.
In 2020, the year he stepped down as a senior working royal and moved to the US with the Duchess of Sussex, Harry was left saddened when he was refused his wish to have a poppy wreath placed at the Cenotaph, the focus of the UK’s Remembrance Sunday service, on his behalf.
Just months later, the duke was stripped of his military patronages by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, after his decision to pursue a life of personal and financial freedom was made permanent.
