Prince Harry attended the U.S. Army Recovery Care Program’s Warrior Games during its final day of competition in San Diego, California this week.
The Army said the Duke of Sussex made his surprise visit “extra special” by spending time with athletes and their families during the adaptive sports tournament and by watching the Sitting Volleyball Finals from the stands on Monday.
It was his first appearance since he was in the U.K. last week for his unlawful information gathering case against Mirror Group Newspapers.
“Thank you #DukeOfSussex Prince Harry for all you do to help our wounded, ill and injured service members !” the U.S. Army Recovery Care Program wrote on Instagram on Monday.
Harry, a veteran with the British army himself, previously said that the Warrior Games inspired him to found the international Invictus Games in 2014.
This year’s Invictus Games will take place in Germany in September.
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“It was such a great concept by America that it had to be stolen,” Harry said at the time, according to People magazine. “But I wanted to bring it to a broader international audience.”
He said attending the Warrior Games in 2013 “ignited” something in him after seeing “firsthand the power of sport in inspiring recovery and demonstrating life beyond disability.”
The Invictus Games similarly allows wounded and sick service members from different countries to compete in sporting events.
This year’s warrior games ran from June 2 to 12 at the Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego.
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, live several hours north of San Diego in Montecito, California, with their two children. They settled in the U.S. after stepping down as senior royals in 2020.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Army Recovery Care Program and reps for Prince Harry for comment.