Prince Harry said he had to address the “elephant in the room” as he gave a speech to veterans and serving military personnel at a special dinner in a trip to Canada
Prince Harry issued an apology and explanation after causing a stir on a high profile outing with wife Meghan. Last month, the Sussexes wore Dodgers caps and colours to a Los Angeles Dodgers cap to a World Series baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays on a cosy date night.
Afterwards, some questioned their decision to seemingly support the LA team – especially despite Meghan’s previous support for the Blue Jays and Harry’s dad Charles being King of Canada. And at a dinner in Toronto last night honouring Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans and their families, Harry joked he was addressing the “blue-hatted elephant in the room” as he apologised to Canada for wearing the cap.
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Harry said wearing it was the polite thing to do after being invited to the dugout by the Dodgers team’s owner. He even joked he would have “even worn a Yankees cap” to avoid floodlights shining down on an “ever-increasing bald spot”. But he added: “Well, maybe not a Yankees cap.”
Harry’s former actress wife Meghan, lived in Toronto while filming the legal drama Suits, and she and Harry spent time together there during the early stages of their relationship.
He also told guests: “As for my wife, she lived in Toronto for years and has deep affection for this city, so much so that many people around the world believe she’s Canadian, so I think we can forgive a native Californian for her Dodgers loyalty, even if just for one evening.”
Harry’s outing at the dinner came after he met a 101-year-old Canadian Second World War veteran ahead of Remembrance Day – and she offered him a playful warning.
The Duke of Sussex, who was on a two-day trip to Canada, met a host of veterans and other former service personnel as they took part in activities such as painting, ceramics and photography at the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre in Toronto.
The prince viewed military helmets that had been decorated by former servicemen and women, lending a hand with one man’s artwork.
Among those he met during the visit was 101-year-old Brenda Reid, who served at a women-run naval station in Nova Scotia during the Second World War, and Harold Toth, 95, a Korean War veteran who enlisted with the Queen’s Own Rifles.
When asked by Harry about their war experiences, Ms Reid joked about her fellow residents saying: “You can’t always believe the boys.”
The visit to the centre was part of his 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.
Later, Harry also spoke with veterans and active service members at a dinner event held by veterans’ organisation True Patriot Love Foundation.
There, he recalled his training at Canadian Forces Base Suffield, in Alberta, and how he served alongside Canadian Armed Forces members during his deployment in Afghanistan.
Harry’s Remembrance-related outings come after he expressed his pride at fighting for his country in a personal essay, and warned how easy it is for veterans to be forgotten “once the uniform comes off”. The prince spoke in an essay released on Wednesday about 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 that although he “currently” lives in the US, he reflects that “Britain is, and always will be, the country I proudly served and fought for”.
He described Remembrance as “not simply a minute’s silence” but “a call to collective responsibility”.
