Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus GamesPrince Harry trekked across the South Pole with his Walking With the Wounded team and saw firsthand just how much games and sports can benefit military veterans who are injured in the line of duty.
Now, the 29-year-old royal is launching the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style competition for injured servicemen and women. He announced this new initiative Thursday in London, joking that the Warrior Games, a Paralympic-style competition in the U.S., was "such a good idea by the Americans that it had to be stolen."
"When I was in Washington in 2012 I met the small contingent of the U.K. team and hearing the stories that came back from the games really ignited something in me that made me want to broaden this to wider audiences," he said, per NBC News.
"Why do we need to do it?" Harry asked. "Well, to demonstrate the power of sports, to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and to demonstrate life beyond disability, and it really is as simple as that."
"I have witnessed first-hand how the power of sport can positively impact the lives of wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women in their journey of recovery," he added.
The Invictus Games will take place in venues built for the 2012 London Olympics, and sports will include swimming, wheelchair basketball, archery and sitting volleyball.
Back in January, Harry quit his job as an Army helicopter pilot to become an army staff officer in London. He expressed an interest then in bringing an event such as the U.S.' Warrior Games to the U.K. Part of his new role's responsibilities would include, the palace said in a statement, "Helping to coordinate significant projects and commemorative events involving the army in London."
Only three months in, and he's already launched the Invictus Games? Looks like somebody's doing pretty well with his new job!